Country Charm
by twilightfanatic
Summary: Edward's hired as a farmhand for the Swan's. Their in desperate need of help after Charlie's stroke and Renee dying just a few years ago. But the story changes as these two are thrown apart and they fight to get to each other. ExB present day
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**Alright people, like I promised, the first chapter of my third story. Hope you guys enjoy it, it takes awhile to right this, mostly bc I don't want to add a bunch of worthless fluff. Fluff is fine. Just not worthless fluff. Plus, I have thought of the 'Perfect Ending,' so I'm happy about that. Now all I have to do is write it. I FINALLY read the first chapter of Ecilpse. The characters are kinda OCC. Maybe it's just because it's the first chapter, Idk. CAN"T WAIT!!!!**

**Story------Present day tense and none are vampires.  
**

_**Chapter 1 (Edward's POV)**_

"Edward, you've turned seventeen. You and Alice have to get a job just like your brothers and sister did." My mother, Esme, had a family meeting to discuss our new responsibility. Even though Carlisle wasn't here. He would be defending me, but he was never home anymore. Always at the hospital where he was working.

"But why? I still have school work to do. I haven't graduated!" I exclaimed, trying to get out of it. But…I knew I was going to lose this argument. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper had to get jobs when they turned seventeen and now Alice and I had to too.

"We made an agreement Edward." Esme scolded me.

"Plus, it'll be good to get your white butt out of the house." Rosalie, my step-sister, said, while she was filing her nails. I glared at her and she just smirked at me. We never got along. She was like the evil step sister in Cinderella. I still can't believe that Emmett liked her.

"What Rosalie is saying, is that it'll be good for you to get some experience before you go into the real world." She gave Rose a disapproving expression. Rosalie looked like she was going to say something, but she kept her mouth closed.

"Let me guess. Alice already knew about this." I looked over to my little sister. She could hardly calm her excitement down. I rolled my eyes, seeing her happy expression. She probably already knew what job she was getting. Or what job she wanted.

"We knew you couldn't debate about it if Alice accepted." Emmett grinned.

"What, did she get a job at the shopping mall? Discount on clothes?" I said, mocking my sister's habit of buying every single item in a shop. I guess she hadn't, she looked shocked and started on a rampage.

"MOM!!!COULD I????" She was jumping up and down, screaming for Esme to let her.

"Alice, you already have a job." Esme said, trying to make her calm down. Then she looked at me. "Edward, don't even try to get out of this. Alice has gotten a job at the hospital. And—"

"But why do I have to!?! I have school work to do!!" I stood up, waiting for their answer.

"Edward. It's time you do some real work." Emmett said. Of course, he was the one who wasn't doing all that great in school.

"Plus, you're already caught up to us. You could be graduating this year if you wanted to." Jasper threw in, looking up from his book.

"Yeah, so do some real work." Rosalie said, as she started playing with her hair, twirling it.

"Yeah, like you know what real work is. You just stand there while people take pictures of you." She was a model for advertising. She went into the city every few days, filming or photographing.

She gave me glare, and this time, I smirked.

"Eddie, you better watch it. Rose does more than just stand around and you know it." Emmett defended his girlfriend.

"Yeah, at least she makes it look pretty." I said, taunting Emmett. He was a guard at one of the clubs. How he got the job and being only eighteen? His size. He was a huge kid for only that age. But all he did was stand there.

His expression was just as good as Rose's. His face was scrunched up and red in fury.

I looked over to Jasper, but he quickly turned my offer down. If he said anything, I would just go and say all he does is read. He'll read anything he gets his hands on. He works in the library. Enough said.

"So see. All you guys do is just stand there. Either looking pretty or mean." I said, pushing my chair back, ready to leave the room. I was almost out when Emmett's voice stopped me.

"Don't cha want ta know what job ya got?" Emmett said, in a southern accent.

I turned around to see a now smiling couple. Ah, crap. "I'll get my own job. Not something you'll pick out."

"Too late." Rosalie smirked. "You know what I said about getting your white butt out there? It won't be white for long." She laughed. I sighed and stood there, waiting for an answer.

"Come on. You have to ask what job you got first. Or shall we let you guess?" Emmett said, scratching his chin.

"Well, you wouldn't have talked in such an accent, and something about being out in the sun. How about a male prostitute out on the streets during the day?" I said, in a completely serious face. They looked stunned and then all of them started laughing, save Esme who looked frightened.

"NO!!!!" My mom finally said after probably imagining me in some get-up, out on the streets. "No, you are NOT a-a-…" She looked flustered. "An escort." She finally said, still trying to calm herself down. I went over to her and hugged her.

"Mom, I was just teasing." I let go and saw Rosalie and Emmett still smirking at me. "Plus, Rosalie is perfect for prostituting. In fact, I bet she does it even better than me."

I was in my room within ten seconds, locking it and checking myself for bruises for all the things she threw at me. But she did tell me what I was doing. Well, yelled it at me, really.

A stable hand.

It was for one of the family's at school. They needed help and of course, Rose and Emmett volunteered me for the job. I would start tomorrow. Wow, what a warning they gave me.

A text from my phone broke my thoughts.

_Good Luck! From A & E._

Alice and Esme.

Luck. That's one thing I would need.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 2 (Edward's POV)**_

Today I would begin my job. As a stable hand. I still couldn't get over them doing this to me. At least my brothers and sisters had a say in their jobs. I ignored my family as I ate my breakfast, still mad at them doing this. Carlisle was actually here for once, but he was staying quiet. I quickly ate and was about to leave where I didn't even know where I was suppose to go. How idiotic of me. I walked back in and saw Carlisle about to walk out. He saw me and stopped.

"What's the matter, Edward? You're going to be late if you don't hurry." He said softly, not wanting me to blow up on him.

"I don't know where to go." I said as toneless as I could.

He took a deep breath and said, "Come on, I'll show you were to go." He said a little louder over his shoulders, "Swans, right?"

"YEP!!!" Emmett's voice rung through the house.

"Alright then, it's a long drive. I'll show you to their driveway and see you off there, otherwise I'm going to be late too." We walked outside and got into our cars. As I drove my Volvo, I realized that I knew nothing about farming. We never had any animals and I usually just went outside to listen to music on my IPOD. We lived outside of town, but not on a farm. It was a secluded part of the forest. After about twenty minutes, driving on the back roads around the outskirts of town, he slowed his car to a halt. I wasn't for sure if this was a driveway or a dirt road. It had nice, white fencing on both sides of the road, but there was no house in sight.

Carlisle got out of his car and I rolled down my window to talk to him. "Now, I know you don't want to do this, but please, don't take it out on this family. They've gone through a lot and they don't need anymore hard times to go through. They don't need you arguing and getting out of work." He sighed, giving up the hard exterior he was trying to use. "Edward, do this for me if not for anyone else. This family needed someone and your just on temporary basis. Now that Esme is going back to work, you have to go back to school—"

"WHAT!!!!" Esme? But how was I supposed to go to school. I've always been homeschooled! "Why didn't she tell me?"

"Which part?" He looked a little uncertain.

"BOTH!!!" Why was she even going back to work? Carlisle made enough money. Plus, the whole family would be gone to work. Nobody would ever see each other.

"She wanted to Edward. She needs something to do. And now that she's back at work, she can't home school you and Alice anymore. So, in two weeks, you'll be going to school where the rest of your siblings go." He leaned back, waiting to hear what I would say. Or scream.

But all I said-and I said it quietly was, "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"They were supposed to last night." He said, answering my question. But they didn't. All they did was make a joke out of my job. I took off, not even realizing that I did. I was half way down the drive way before noticing it. I looked back in the rearview mirror, but all I saw was dust. I could finally see the house. It was magnificent. Even better then ours. It had several buildings around it and I could see machinery everywhere. As I followed the driveway around the house and to the back, I saw someone sitting on the back deck. I got out of my car, parking it next to a very old looking truck, and walked up to the man on the deck.

He stood up and met me half way. He gave me a smile and shook my hand. "Hello, I'm Charlie Swan. You must be Edward Cullen."

"Yes sir, I am." He clapped his hand on my shoulder and asked me if I knew anything about farming. "No sir, I don't."

"Enough with the 'sir.' I'm not your boss." Before I could ask who was, he started taking me on a tour of the farm. He showed me the shop, I was surprised how organized it was. And clean. The rest of the buildings were like that too. He briefly told me of the horse barns, and showed me where they were. But that was it. They were far from the house, on the east side. We went to the biggest building, the barn, I guessed from the structure.

When we stepped in, I could hear someone upstairs, in the barn attic, moving around. Charlie noticed my gaze, but didn't answer the unasked question.

"Now, this is where you will mostly be working. Since you don't know anything about farming, we'll just give you the basics. The feed bags are over in one corner. The big container over in the other corner holds the feed for the calf-feeder. The small hay bale's are up in the attic. The tractor will be in here whenever we aren't using it. The tools are in here, at least the one's we use often." Charlie said, showing me the huge barn. I looked at the bag's, thinking they couldn't need that many. There must have been a hundred bags!!

"We feed half the cows one day and the rest the next. This happens once a week. We have spilt up the cows into different fields. My daughter, Bella, will be showing you around. She's the one you hear upstairs. Probably cleaning up. In case you haven't noticed all the cleanness of the buildings are because of her. She has to have things in order." He chuckled. Then frowned and sighed. "She doesn't take things to lightly, and I don't want to hear anything bad happening. I had to fire the last guy for trying to take advantage of her. Good thing I gave her a shot gun for her birthday." He bit his lip while I widened my eyes. He couldn't be serious. Could he?

"Um, I-I. Don't worry sir, I won't." I tried to stutter out. A shotgun? What if--

"I thought I told you not to call me that!" He said, laughing.

"I'm sorry. I just forgot. I won't—"

"OH!!! You should have seen your face!!! That was the most hilarious thing I've seen in awhile!!" He burst out laughing. "When I said that part about the shotgun! OH!! My god, that was hilarious! Your face lit up like a dead firework." He said, chuckling. Then he stopped, now serious again. "She does have one. Just to warn you. But I do want you to take her serious. I don't want to have to hear if you've been slacking off."

He looked gloomy now, but continued on. "Not that she would tell me. But I know if Carlisle raised you, you'll be great." His expression changed to one of gratefulness. "Your parents have done a lot for us, and for that, we thank you. Especially when I had my stroke just a few weeks ago. Thank you for doing this Edward."

"It's no problem." I immediately knew why I was working now. I was the only person--_male_--available in our family to work. And Carlisle was probably the one to volunteer me, not Rosalie or Emmett as I originally thought.

"Now, about my daughter, she'll work you into the ground. If you don't do something, she'll take over. Don't let her. She's doing enough things at the moment." He took a deep breath. "We used to have a few more workers here, but they quit about a month ago. Then, a few friends of the family helped, but they go to school. And now after my stroke, Bell's is the only one working. I can't step outside the house according to your father." He turned to me, serious. "Don't tell him I did, though."

As he talked of his daughter, I could only picture her of this rough, big muscled girl with a shotgun. She wouldn't smile, only have a set jaw on her, she'd be tough looking. She would whip---

"Uh-oh, here she comes." He said, worry coloring his tone. His face looked afraid but with a bit of awe in it. And of course, fatherly love dominated all of his features.

I saw one boot, then two appear on the ladder, coming from the attic. As they moved down, more body showed. When she reached the bottom, I could only stare. She was nothing of what I envisioned. She had tan skin, not the fake tan what girls (and some guys) get at the tanning bed. This was a more deep tan. Her hair was a deep chocolate brown, the same color of her eyes, which drew me in. She looked angry as she saw us and immediately came over to us, not even noticing me, just watching her father.

"You aren't supposed to be out here, Dad!" She said, putting her hands on her hips. I noticed that she had gloves on and she had bits of hay sticking to her clothes. "You know the doctor's orders, you aren't supposed to get out of the house for another two weeks!"

"Bella." He said, it sounded like he was in trouble. And trying to get out of it. I bit back a smile at the two figures in front of me. Charlie was looking for a way out and spotted me. "Edward here needed a tour and I didn't want to bother you, so I—"

"Fine." She grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me over. I stumbled, not thinking she had the strength to do that. "I'll give him the rest of the tour. You" she pointed at him, "Go back into the house."

Surprisingly, he followed her orders, but not before shouting, "Bye, Edward! Good Luck! Hope you make it to the end of the day!" He turned around at the door. "And if you do, we have supper waiting on the table for ya."

"I'm not that bad!!!" Bella said loudly. We both heard his chuckle as he went to the house. She turned to me and just stood there looking at me. Assessing me. Sizing me up to see if I was good enough to work for her.

"So. Any questions before we begin?" She asked, probably to break the silence.

I was so nervous, that I said the first thing that came to my mind. "Where's your shotgun?"

As I realized what I said, I closed my eyes, hoping it was just a dream. I opened them when I heard Bella laughing a lovely laugh and saw a beautiful smile on her face.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**To answer a few questions about the Cullen's: NO, They are NOT vampires. But there will be vamps/werewolves. But that's later on.  
**

_**Chapter 3 (Bella POV)  
**_

I was still giggling from his question. It was about five-ten minutes ago and I was still laughing about it. It was amusing to see a guy go beet red. Sure, Jacob--my best friend--would blush sometimes, but you couldn't really see it with his complexion. I was not expecting that to come out of his mouth. When I was up in the attic, I started listening to their conversation when I heard my name. Charlie was really getting bored in the house and had to find some type of amusement. Maybe I should get him some movies.

"Are you done laughing yet?" Edward's irritated voice rung out. "Because, I think I was hired to work as a farmhand, not a clown."

"But you do the latter one so well." I couldn't resist saying that. His frown and glare immediately shut me up and decided to get some work done. Right now, I was having him drive the tractor to get a large hay bale. It was an old 1967 Massey Fergusson and it was a bit easier to drive now that Jake had cleaned the engine.

"Alright. Alright. I'll quit laughing. Now, the lever to lift the back end is on your right as is the brakes. So, go out around the fence to the field over there." I pointed to the horse stables. "And go behind it and wait for me. Don't turn it off or anything, I just have to grab the pickup."

I watched him go and then I ran to my truck. The gates were still opened from me hauling feed in this morning, so I was in luck. I drove behind the stables and saw a worried and slightly frightened Edward sitting on the ground by the wheel of the tractor. Which the front was half-way in the hay.

I got out of the truck, biting my bottom lip to hide my smile. Why did I trust Edward with a tractor? I went over and assessed the damage. Which was none. I got on the tractor, started it up and put it in reverse. Edward was over by my truck at this time, sulking. I quickly got done with the hay bale and after parking the tractor, walked over to Edward, sitting on the tailgate of my truck. I hopped up and sat beside him.

"Why the long face?" I asked him, surely he wouldn't be this upset over the thing. He looked like he was going to kill somebody.

"I forgot to put in the clutch while using the brakes." He said quietly, telling me why I found the tractor like that.

"Well…excuses don't make improvements." I jumped to the ground. We still had a lot of work to do. "Come on, let's get back to work."

I was walking back to the truck when Edward's voice stopped me, "Your not going to fire me?"

"No, everybody makes mistakes, now let's go." I opened the driver's side, but he still wasn't moving. "Edward, I won't tell anybody and I won't fire you. Now. LET'S GO!"

He quickly moved and got in the cab. I noticed his bare hands and sighed. His clothes looked pretty good too. Like some rich clothing store.

"Where's your gloves?" I asked as we drove away from the house and towards the cattle which were in the very back fields this time of year.

"What? I didn't know what to bring." He looked at his hands, then his pants. "Or what to wear."

"Well, there's some of Charlie's gloves in here," I pointed to the glovebox, "so find them and put 'em on. You'll need 'em." He didn't ask why, so I just stayed quiet for the rest of the ride. When I finally spotted the cows, I stopped.

"Okay, first job. We feed half the cows one day and the rest of the cows the next. Especially now, right before we take them to the salebarn. So, you can either drive, or get in the back and open the feed bags and scatter it as I drive."

"Um, which one is easier?" He asked, probably not wanting to screw this up too.

"Back." He nodded his head and got out. I opened the small window on the back of the cab to talk to him. Then I got out, and quickly gave him a knife to cut the bags with. "Just open a corner of it and let it hang over the side of the truck. We don't want to put it just in one area. One bag per cattle group."

The cows were coming, so I quickly got in and drove over to him. When I looked in the rearview mirror, I again looked over him. Taking in his sharp features. He had a little muscle and a little tan. Oh, I should give him some suntan lotion. I forgot about that. He is going to burn like a ex-boyfriend's picture. (Taylor Swift-Picture to Burn)

We went around to all the field's, and it was eleven thirty by the time we were done. It would take about twenty five minutes to get up to the house, so it would be just in time for lunch. Charlie didn't fix much, but he told me he would start cooking now that he was stuck in the house.

Edward jumped out of the back when we stopped at the house.

"Go on in. Charlie should have lunch ready." I told him, heading off to go feed my horses.

"Where you going?" He asked, not doubt starved by all the work he did.

"Work. It never ends." He looked surprised. "Don't worry, I'll be in in a few minutes."

Once I made my rounds, I set off back to the house, wanting to get some food in and go back to work. But I soon met Charlie and Edward on the deck talking.

"Done?" I asked them. There were no plates or anything.

"Nope. Forgot to go grocery shopping. There is absolutely nothing in the fridge." Charlie told me, and it dawned on me, that I hadn't gone shopping since his stroke.

"Hmm. Edward needs some gloves too. And some clothes, so…" I was thinking of everything we needed in town.

"Well, I can make a sandwich for me, but you two are out of luck. So, go to town and get whatever you need. Bell's? The list is on the cabinet." Charlie told me, obviously wanting us gone again.

"Alright Dad, we'll be gone soon enough." I joked with him.

"You know I love you." His voice said right before I went in. I replied the same.

* * *

"How do those fit?" I asked Edward. We finally were done with the grocery shopping and now onto Edward's gloves. 

"Too tight. I think." He took them off and looked around for some more. He had a wall of gloves to choose from and he couldn't pick one. The bell rang, signaling that someone came into the store. I looked to see who it was and quickly turned my back to them.

"What about these? They have a nice, flexible stretch to them. Bella?" Edward became aware that I was not looking in one direction. I saw him look around in my peripheral vision. "What's the matter?" He whispered.

"Umm, nothing. Are you done?" I asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"Yeah." He said, then looked back. "Their not looking, go. I'll meet you at the truck."

"Thanks." I hurried and took off, out the door, before they could see me.

When Edward got into the cab five minutes later, he asked me, "Are you going to tell me why you rushed to get out of there or am I going to have to go back in and ask those people?"

I sighed, not wanting to tell him, but I did anyways. "The guy is from school, Mike. He always asks me out and everything. He's like a stalker. The father, Mr. Newton, wants to buy our farm. He's been hounding my dad to sell it. And every time he sees me, he just has to brag about how well his cattle and everything is and how we should just move into town."

"Why?" He asked after a few moments.

"He doesn't think we're going to make it." I exhaled. "And we might not."

"Why not?" He asked again.

"Because, there's too many cattle and nobody wants to work anymore. Charlie won't ever be able to go back to workin cattle and I—I just don't know." I started up the truck and took off, ending the conversation. I pulled into the vet's place. "Sorry, this'll be a quick stop. Just have to get my dogs. Be back in a second."

I left him in my truck and went to go get my two pup's. They weren't really pup's, but, to me, they forever will be. I opened the tailgate to let them in. They happily jumped in and I slammed it shut. I took off the leashes and got back in the cab.

"What are their names?" Edward asked as we pulled out.

I smiled. "Romeo and Juliet. I named them after I read the book."

"It fits." He said, trying not to laugh to loud. But under his breath, not meaning for me to hear-at least I think not-he whispered, "At least it wasn't Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy."

When we got home, we took the groceries in and went back to work. Around seven, when it was getting to dark to work, we headed to the house, for supper. Charlie had made hamburgers and the three of us enjoyed each others company. Me telling Charlie what Edward did wrong today and Edward grumbling about it. But the tables turned when Charlie started telling stories about me. How I ran into the stacks of feed with the tractor and how quickly I jumped off. When we finished the meal, Edward and I went outside.

"So I wasn't the only one who ran into something with the tractor." He said, smiling like he won first prize at a cattle show.

"Hardy-har-har." We walked to his car and I stopped dead in my tracks. "Why are you working here if you got that car?"

"Umm, my parents made me?" He said, laughing. "When we turn seventeen, we have to get a job."

"Oh." Then I remembered something else. "Hey, don't forget some suntan lotion tomorrow. Your lucky it was cloudy today. Your skin would be burnt to a crisp."

"Alright." He said getting in to his car. "See ya tomorrow, Bella."

"Bye." I replied. I watched him go down our dusty driveway and headed to the stables, to see my horses for a little bit. But I never did get too, Charlie called me in.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 4 (Bella's POV)**_

I didn't get to see my horses that night, but as Edward and I waited for supper the next day, I decided I would let the 'men' talk and go for my long awaited ride on my favorite horse. Sunline. I named her after the first horse to be inducted into the Hall of Fame while still racing. After a couple months, I wanted to change it, but she was already listening to it.

As I saddled up, my dogs came running to my side. The horses were used to them by now; they only kicked 'em when the dogs got in the way. I mounted and took off down the lane. At first, I let the horse go at a slow pace, but she hadn't run in a long time so we were soon were steaming down the long driveway.

When I got to the end, I looked back to see if I could see the house. I couldn't. It was too far away. I got off Sunline, letting her rest for a minute and walked around, seeing the sun set. It was beautiful, as always, but I never had time to enjoy it anymore. Renee and I used to go riding to a spot by one of the lakes and watch the sun go down. We also got up early a few times to see the sun rise. We made a picnic out of it.

I stopped reminiscing and petted Sunline for a few more minutes before I got back on, heading home. When I saw the house was within view, I sped up, only to slow down once I saw Charlie and Edward standing on the porch. When I said I hadn't ridden in a long time, I meant I hadn't ridden since my mother's death. I had saddled the horses a few times, but was never able to mount them. I soon stopped trying after the few tries.

When I could see their faces, I looked to Edward's first. His didn't show anything out of the ordinary. I wondered for a moment if he knew how my mom died. Charlie's face on the other hand, was a mixture of expressions. First sadness, then anger, and worry. All these were because I was riding a horse. I quickly kicked the horse and started fast to the stables. I wasn't sure what Charlie would do. Yell at me or talk casually or say nothing at all. I jumped off of her, not really sure what to do when I went back to the house. So I focused on the task at hand. Grooming the horse.

As I removed the saddle and tack and all the other things so that I could comb her, I heard footsteps approach the stall I was in. I recognized them as Edward's and looked up to see him leaning against the stall door. I went back to combing and sprayed some bug repeller onto her. I went and poured some feed into bucket, all while Edward watched. When I saw his expression, his eyes showed that he had many questions. But the question in my mind was, was he going to voice them?

I was done with the horses, after making sure they had feed and water. But Edward remained, watching me the whole time. At the last stall, I finally turned to him, "So, what brings you out on this fine night?"

He raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Tell me, why was Charlie so adamant about you riding a horse?"

I still wasn't for sure if he knew or not about my mom. I take it he did since Carlisle was the one to help us with Renee and everything. But I could be wrong. The only answer I gave him was, "Accident's do happen."

We walked to the house in silence and we all had a quiet supper. Charlie not talking to me the whole time. Edward tried to make small talk but failed each time. This would not be a not of sharing childhood memories. At least not the good ones. He soon left and Charlie went straight to bed, leaving me with the dishes and food to put back in the fridge. I was already extremely tired and worn out by the day's work and stress, that I didn't bother changing and just plopped on my bed, instantly asleep within a few seconds.

I woke up to someone shaking me. I opened my eyes. Then closed them, thinking it had to be a dream.

"Come on sleepy head. The day's a wastin'." Edward said as he picked me up and stood me up in my room. Which I slunk to the ground, not wanting to wake up. At least not fully. I grabbed my blanket from the bed and brought it down over me.

"Go away." I mumbled, trying to go back to sleep.

"Bella, we have work to do." He said, trying to pull the blanket from me. "What if I throw you into a cold shower? Will that wake you up?"

"Nope." It wouldn't either. I didn't care about the cold, mostly because I was use to it from the ponds we had and the big lake we had.

"Well, let's try it, shall we?" He picked me up and then checked to see which doorway was the one to the bathroom.

"Oh, Edward. Just put me down. Please?" I asked, still half asleep on his shoulder. I was used to this. Jake and Quil thought it was hilarious when they put me into the shower with clothes on. They told me I looked like a wet cat. They were, oh, so nice.

"Alright. Charlie left a note, saying he went with Billy. I let myself in when nobody answered the door. Hope you don't mind." When he spoke of Charlie, I knew that he wouldn't be home for a couple days. He was going to avoid me and this place, like he did before his stroke. Except this time, he wasn't supposed to. He was supposed to be resting, but right now, I really didn't care. I just wanted to sleep.

I dragged myself to the kitchen after putting on fresh clothes. Edward was there, looking distraught. "What's the matter?"

I didn't care about manners. I was going to be straight forward. Plus, he had gotten me up too early for me to care about anything.

"I thought Charlie was supposed to stay in the house?" He asked after I gave no answer to his first question.

"Me too." I got out some cereal and fixed me a bowl. "But after my ride yesterday, he probably won't be coming back for a couple days."

"Why not?" We sat down at the table, Edward folding his arms in front of him.

"He's avoiding me. And home. Where the place his wife died." I said, shutting out the memories of that day.

"Hey, you okay?" I felt his hand on my shoulder and I jerked back.

"Yeah, I'm just peachy. Perfectly fine." I stood up. "You wanted to work, let's go work."

We worked without stopping for lunch or any other reasons. I never rested, I didn't want time to think. We had got done baling the hay and had gotten done quickly. We ended at five, and I told Edward he could go home and tomorrow we would move the hay bales to one location. He left, but not without giving me a hug. I almost broke down there.

I was right. Charlie didn't come back for a couple days. In fact, when he didn't come back after three, I was starting to worry. I called Billy, only to have Jake answer the phone. I asked if Charlie was there, but he said he wasn't. But he would speak to me in about an hour. I wondered what that meant.

I walked outside, seeing Edward pull up. I had his check for his first week in my hand. When he opened his door, I saw that he was dressed to work.

"Sorry I'm late. We had a family meeting and-" He saw the paper in my hand. And looked up at me. Well down, still, since he was about two feet taller than me. "Are you firing me?"

I laughed. "No, it's your check. You'll get two, since you're only working two weeks."

"Oh." He said, flabbergasted.

"Yeah." I handed him his check. "We don't have any work today. Take the day off, I already made the rounds, so…" I let the sentence run on. I had planned to go riding with my free day. Charlie wasn't there and I didn't have any work, so it just seemed perfect.

"What are you going to do?" He asked suspiciously.

"Ride." I said simply. "Since Charlie's gone, I'm going to ride as long as possible."

He was quiet for a moment, then said. "Do you mind if I join you?"

_YES I MIND!!!!!!_ My mind screamed. I had wanted peace and quiet, but with Edward along, I didn't think that would happen. Plus, who knows what trouble he would get into.

"Do you know how to ride a horse?" I asked him.

He smiled sheepishly, "No. But you can show me."

In spite of everything, I said yes. "Sure, let's go."

I did want to spend time with him, I realized, as I saddled his horse, Blackie. Edward calmed me and let me show my feelings. He made me laugh. He made me smile. And last night, he made me cry when he hugged me. I didn't cry in front of him, but when I got in the house, the tears poured out. Maybe…maybe it's a good thing Edward's with me. He'll make it all the more enjoyable.

"His name is Blackie. And mine is Abigail." We were mounted on our horses, ready to ride down the lane for our first lesson.

"But he's not even black! He's a rusty brown!" He stared incredulous down at the horse.

I laughed and replied. "My friend Jake wanted to name a horse after him. I refused, but he started calling this horse by his last name, Black. And Blackie seemed to stick."

He chuckled, "What were you going to call him?"

"Darcy." I said under my breath.

He almost fell off his horse, laughing so hard. I kicked the horse to a trot and started off down the road. Edward soon joined me, taking his knowledge after his brief lesson of how to maneuver the horse. "You couldn't call your dogs that, so you called your horses it. Let me guess, one of the other horse's names is Elizabeth?"

"Lizzy." I said, staring ahead. Then I looked back at Edward when there was no reply. I slowed my horse down, slowing his down in the process. He seemed to have trouble controlling Blackie. After showing him the proper way and how to guide the horse, he was doing much better. In fact, after riding down the driveway and back, there was a vast improvement.

"I'll race ya." He said excited, while we were by the fence letting the horses drink some water before heading into the fields.

"No, Edward." I said, quite forcingly. I didn't mean for it to come out so loud and harsh. I mounted the horse and Edward did the same. Then I added, in a teasing tone, "You would only lose. And then—"

Sounds of gravel crunching and a car's engine broke my sentence. I looked down the lane and only saw dust flying up from some car. It looked familar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I remembered instantly when I saw who was driving it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**Chapter 5 (Bella's POV)**

So that's what he meant when he said we would talk in an hour. I had completely forgotten about that until now, when I saw him pull up. I dismounted and ran over to his car.

"So, ya finally got it finished?" I asked him, looking at his rabbit.

"Yep, about a week ago. Quil and Embry helped on it." He wasn't looking at me, but at Edward. I looked over to him, now standing on the ground, holding the reins of both horses.

"Jake, this is Edward. Edward this is Jacob Black." Neither moved to shake hands, just stood watching the other. Like a showdown. I mumbled, "Bring out the guns."

Jake must have heard me because he started laughing. "Sorry, I was trying to picture where I've seen him at." He looked over to Edward again. "You go to school here?"

"I will after this next week is over." Edward said, loosening up. "But I've never gone before."

"Hmmm." Jake looked perplexed.

"Well," I said, bringing the attention back. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Well, I was wondering what was wrong with Charlie. He and Billy won't talk to me, so I figured I would come ask you why he's been at our house for the past few days." Jake stared at me, "But when I saw you on your horse, I realized why."

"Jake-" His arms wrapped around me.

"I'm glad. You've finally gotten back on the horse, so to speak." He laughed, causing both of us to shake.

"Well, I just thought it was time." Though I just wanted something to do, other than work.

"Good." He kept an arm around my shoulders. "Plus, there's some people wanting to see ya."

I looked back behind us, at the car, seeing Quil and Embry. "Well, well. What do we have here? I'm surprised you guys showed up. Thought you would be with your girlfriends."

They looked uncomfortable, but I still hadn't really forgiven them for dropping me into all the work right after the rest of the workers quit. There were only two other workers beside them, but we all did our part. Then Quil and Embry and Jake decided they wanted to be with their girlfriends instead of work. I couldn't really blame them for that, but still, they dropped me like a fly when I needed them most.

"Sorry about that, Bells." Embry said softly. He was the most quiet of the group. "We wanted to make up for it by giving you a ride in Jake's new car."

I thought about it. Jake said he had finished it a week ago. They had probably taken it around town, showing it to everyone already. I decided I rather go with Edward rather with them. I didn't want to drop him just like they dropped me. "Sorry, I don't want to ruin your fun. Plus, Edward and I were just going for a ride of our own."

That did not sound right, but they go the point. We remounted our horses but Jake had something else to say.

"Bells, we're having a bonfire tonight. We would like for you to come." He said it pleadingly. He knew I was still holding something in.

"I'll think about it. Talk to ya later." I took off and didn't look back. I stopped at the gates behind the house to wait for Edward. He wasn't too far behind me, but the horse was probably not wanting to go away from Jake. He was his favorite. But Edward looked like he was doing fine. Surprisingly.

"Let's go." He said as he caught up with me. We went through the fields, just riding. Edward didn't talk. Neither did I. We just rode. After a couple of hours, I guessed it was about one or so, so I decided to take us to the lake to enjoy our lunch. It was the same lake my mom and I used to go to.

I dismounted and Edward tried to, he fell off. Probably his legs were so stiff from the ride. I asked, laughing, "You are alright?"

"Yeah." He got up slowly, but then sat down by the tree, just a few feet away. "Ouch."

I laughed again and got our lunches. I threw his at him, "Just imagine about the long cattle drives they had to do back then. Bet those were just so fun, huh."

"Man," He made a face. "That would hurt so bad."

I burst out laughing at his expression. "Well, good thing ya aren't livin' then, right?"

"Right." He laughed, then winced. "But I'm still sore."

"Come on." I stood up and took off my shirt and shorts. Underneath I had my bathing suit. I had been planning on going swimming, just not with someone. "Let's go for a swim."

"Um." He looked at me with wide eyes. I never noticed how perfect the green was. They could see into your soul it seemed like. "I don't have any swimming trunks."

"Well, strip down to your undergarments, I won't look." I proceeded by jumping into the lake and looked towards the house's direction, waiting for him to jump in. I finally heard a splash and looked back. But all I saw was rippling water. I was suddenly pulled down into the water. Of course I struggled and swallowed some water in the process. When we came back up, I splashed as much of water as I could as onto Edward, after I caught my breath of course.

"Sorry!! I just thought it would be funny!!!" He laughed. "I used to do it to my sister's all the time."

"Oh." He never really brought up his family. "How many siblings do you have?"

"Two brothers and two sisters." He thought of something, "We're all adopted. From separate families. Except Rosalie and Jasper. They're twins."

Hmm. I heard those names before somewhere.

He went on, "I was the last to join the family. I'm the only one actually related to Esme and Carlisle. Their really my aunt and uncle, but after my parents died, they took me in a few years ago."

"Wow, that was really nice of them to adopt all of you." That was a huge family. What would it be like if I had that many brothers and sisters?

"Yeah. I was homeschooled mostly because I hate going to school. My parents died while I was at school. They were killed going to the hospital when my mom went into labor and they rushed there, but another car ran a stop sign and both were killed on impact. The baby lived for another hour, but it's lung had been punctured somehow and died. All this happened while I was at school. My parents and baby brother died." He looked far away, pain and sadness was in his eyes, filling them with tears. He looked back at me, and gave me a weak smile.

I smiled back at him, then decided to do what he did to me just a few days ago. I gave him a hug. Which was hard in water, but I somehow managed.

"Thanks." He said, giving a small laugh while wrapping his arms aroung me.

"Well, you helped me more then anybody in the last week than anybody else has in the last five years." I said, still having my arms around him. Edward leaned back and I let go, but his arms, I realized, were still around my waist. So we swam a little, him going backwards, then stopped when we were a few yards from the edge of the lake. He stood up, holding me with him.

"What are you up to?" I asked, looking into his now bright eyes, no more pain in them, and a smile playing on his lips.

"Nothin'." He said grinning. He looked so perfect, with his hair wet and his eyes squinting when he smiled. He had a light tan from his work. I never seen him so close without his shirt on. He usually took it off on hot days, but he was on the tractor, and darn the luck, I didn't have any binoculars with me. But now, I could feel his strong chest and muscles under my own.

I felt his arms tighten and pull me even closer to him. He put his forehead on mine. He stared right into my eyes and said, "You look perfectly kissable right now. You know that?"

"I know _you_ do." I smiled shyly. I tried looking down, but we were just so close together. His lips touched mine and I went crazy. I pushed myself even closer, though I needed no help as he held tight to me. My hands ended up in his hair, holding his head and lips to mine.

We finally stopped when one of the horses whinnied. Edward let go slowly, lowering me into the water, but still kept his arms loosely around me. I laughed softly, thinking 'how cliché' and saw Edward grinning.

"I was right." He said finally.

"About what?" I asked, confused.

"How perfectly kissable you were. And still are." And with that, we kissed again, him leaning down, but I still hadn't really gotten him back for dunking me early. So I put my arms around his neck and pulled him down slowly. He came willingly, but then I pulled him hard and he stumbled into the water. Of course, I got out from under him before he hit the water and pushed him in. The water flew as I tried to get to the egde, but Edward pulled me back.

"AHHH!! HEY, LET GO!!" I said laughing. He held me around the front and carried me out of the water. He let go of me and I fell to the ground, not realizing that he indeed, entirely let me go. "Ofph."

"Whoops, MY fault." He said, laughing. I got up, still bent over, and then tackled him to the ground. I laughed in his face, pretty loudly. I was on top of him, and all he did was laugh with me. But our laughter soon died down, but we made no move to get up. I rested my head on his chest, noticing he only wore boxers, which were wet and sticking to his body. Which was absolutely perfect.

"So…" Edward said, in a deep voice. "I didn't want to bring this up, but…"

He trailed off, leaving the conversation to me. I looked up at him, then back down, at the water. "I bet you have a few questions?"

"Yeah." He said softly. "But if you don't want to tell me, then—"

"What's the first one?" I said, wanting to get this over with.

"Well, let's start at the beginning," I felt him stroke my hair with one hand, while another wrapped around my waist, placing it on my lower back. "How about, why Charlie was mad at you riding a horse the other day?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 6 (Bella's POV)**_

"He was mad at me because the last time I rode a horse, was before my mother died. In fact, it was the day my mother died. Have you heard what happened?" I asked him, hoping he had so I wouldn't have to tell him.

"Yeah, I asked my parents about it the other night, but they didn't know really anything else." He replied.

"Well, I've been wanting to ride for awhile now, but hadn't had the time or energy to do it. So when you helped me all week, I finally thought it was my chance. I didn't even think about Charlie really. I just wanted to feel the speed and motion. I tried riding after my mom died, but I couldn't. Jake tried to help me, but I just pushed him away. Charlie retreated within himself, only going out of his room to spend time with Billy and go fishing. Jake and I took care of ourselves, helping each other. But I still couldn't get back on the horse. I was twelve and Jake was eleven. Anyways, after a year or two, Charlie started paying more attention to me, going back to his old self, but, he wasn't the same. He loved my mom more than anything else."

"So what did you do, in your spare time?" He asked when I didn't go on.

"I was with Jake. And Quil and Embry. We spent our time at the malls, just messin' around." I decided to go back to the point of the question. "Let me back up to tell you how much he hates horses. After my mom's death, Charlie went outside, had a rifle in his hands. I ran after him, not knowing what he was going to do. He yelled at me to get back in the house. We were heading to the stables, and it hit me. He was going to kill the horse that bucked my mom off. I grabbed the rifle, and he already had it ready to shot. In the struggle, the gun went off. It was so close to me that I fainted."

I took a deep breath and went on, "Charlie thought he had killed me. He thought he shot me and I was dead, just like my mother. Billy and Jake had pulled up then, wanting to see if they could do anything for us. But when they saw Charlie with a gun in his hands and me on the ground. It didn't look good. Especially when Charlie was crying and going crazy. Jake ran to me, and checked for wounds, but didn't see any. Billy took Charlie in the house and Jake took me to the stables. We stayed there all night."

"That's when Charlie started ignoring me, thinking he might actually hurt me. He blamed himself for mom's death, and has never gotten over it. We became closer though, this last month. After the two workers' we had, quit, Charlie and I had to do even more work. We had Jake and the gang, helping, but-" I took another deep breath, keeping my eyes dry and my anger in control. "They decided they didn't want to work. They wanted their free time for their friends and girlfriends. They could only work after school, so that's when we did the hard work. I can't lift much, but they could."

Edward cut in. "Why aren't you in school? I just realized that you're only seventeen and yet, you don't go to school."

"Every once in awhile I do. To get my homework in and turn in some. Also to do the tests and everything. Usually every two weeks, I spend a day at school. The school made a deal with me, as long as I come once every two weeks, and keep my grades up to A's and B's, I can work. They call it family leave for students. But, I haven't been able to go in to test. Guess I'll have to do that in the next week or two."

"Bella," Edward said disapproving. "You need to go to school. You can't just keep working your butt off and still not graduate."

"I know. But I just don't have time for it. Today's Saturday, so I couldn't go in. But I'm happy just to be here with you." I gave him a squeeze.

"Me too." He chuckled and hugged me back. I heard him sigh, so I went on with the story.

"Anyways, the guys quit and Charlie, working too much for his own good, had a stroke while at Billy's house. I worked for the first week by myself, but I couldn't lift much, like I said-the guys did most of the lifting. So I told Charlie I needed a worker to do that. I guessed he told a few people, your father, and that's where you come in."

"Wow." He said. I closed my eyes, and listened to his breathing. "Do you mind? If I ask you another?" I shook my head, "Well…what exactly happened with you mom?"

I inhaled sharply. For a few minutes, I didn't say anything. "She was riding her favorite horse. Admiral. Dad had taken me to my riding show, Mom didn't come, she was sick that day." I inhaled again, remembering why she was sick. "She decided to go for a ride and help the farmhands move cattle. The horse was spooked and bucked her off. Into the moving cattle. The worker's didn't notice for a few more minutes, until the cattle were gone. By that time, it was too late. She was already dead. It was a closed casket. Charlie fired the worker's. But still he put the blame on himself. He sold all the horses, but five. I wouldn't let him sell them since they were mine."

"Thank you." Edward said after a few moments. "For telling me."

"Thank you for being with me. And helping me. And Charlie." I added the last two sentences, thinking of him working on the farm.

"So…are you going to the bonfire?" He asked. I was confused for a second, then remembered what he was talking about.

"I don't know. I shouldn't be mad at them, but I am. It just makes me so angry." I got up, realizing we should head back to the house. It wouldn't be as long as this morning, when we just rode anywhere and everywhere. The horses would be well rested. We had taken the saddles off, to let them breath better, and cool down, while we were.

I put on the stuff, Edward being the gentlemen and helping me, of course. As I was tightening the under belt, I asked, "Edward, do you know how to dance?"

He was having trouble with his, so I went over and helped him. "Umm, yeah. Esme taught all of us how to dance."

"Line dance? Square dance? Country dancing?" I asked.

"Uh, nope. Waltz and the tango and—"

"The tango!" I laughed. Wow! were they old fashioned or what!?! "So, not line or anything like that."

"Nope." Then he smiled and said, "But you can teach me."

"Yeah, like all the other things. Alrighty then. Your coming with me tonight." I said as I walked away from him and towards my horse, mounting her. Edward quickly got on too, and we set off.

"So, I, like, have no choice?" He said, with a teasing tone.

"Well, I guess I could go with Jake or—"

"I was just kiddin' Bella." He rode up close to me. "Of course, I'll go with you."

I smiled at him and we rode off into the sunset. Not really, since it was just four or five in the afternoon. But it was fun none the less, especially when we got back to the stables and Edward dismounted, landing in horse manure. I laughed my butt off and quickly took off, not wanting him to get mad.

As I brushed Abigail, I thought of Edward. Surely he had a girlfriend! He was too perfect not too.

"I don't know what to do." His voice broke my concentration. I looked up, and there he was, with the sun shining behind him, he looked like a god.

"Umm." I could feel my face go red. "Umm. I'll be there in a minute."

He looked at me strangely, then left, walking slowly. I laughed at my silliness. _It was just a crush_, I told myself. But in the back of my mind, it was saying something else.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 7 (Bella's POV)**_

"Step to the right, not left." I said once again as Edward stepped on my feet. He was learning the dances and though he kept messing up on this one, he was a quick learner.

"URGH!!! Why can't we just do the simple dances!?!?!" He said, stopping once again.

"Well, I'm sorry. They just don't have waltzes at bonfires or any other country dance. Nor do they boogie or salsa." I stated matter-of-factly. He just rolled his eyes in response.

"Are we done yet?" He sat down on the floor of the barn. I went and turned the radio down which was always playing, then I sat down by Edward.

"Yep, you learned all the dances and perfectly executed every one except the last one. And in one hour, too. That's pretty amazing Edward." I said, completely serious. I was klutz and couldn't dance, but he still learned from me. "You dance better than I do."

He snorted. "Yeah right. You've known those your whole life. You know them by heart."

"Yeah, but I never dance." I said, remembering when I usually just went to a lake nearby and sat down. Jake would usually come find me and tell me when Charlie was leaving.

"Why not?" He asked, surprised.

"I can't dance!!!" I said, did he not notice me trip and fall over nothing when I tried to show him one of the steps!

"Sure ya can!! You just did!!" He looked at me with disbelieving eyes.

"Edward, I have a bruise on my arm from tripping over nothing while trying to teach you." I rose up arm to show him, "See?"

"Bella, Bella, Bella." He said, disapprovingly. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Hmmm." Then I realized something. "You're not going to make me dance, are you? Because I am NOT going to take you with me if you even attempt to."

"Bella."

"Because, I saw Jake glaring at you. I bet you ten bucks, that I can make him take me home."

"Bella." He laughed my name out. He reached over and took me into his arms. I was perfectly comfortable like this, but I had more pressing matters.

"Seriously. He would probably add a punch and _then_ take me home, but still. Just to warn you."

"Bella, I won't try to make you dance. Don't worry." His expression was mischievous. I didn't trust him one bit.

"Yep, that's what you'll say and then when we get there, you'll make me dance, and I'll fall, and—"

Edward silenced me by putting his hand over my mouth. "Bella, you're babbling." He laughed, "Come on, it won't be so bad."

"Fine." I huffed. Then remembered something. "Hey, do you want to bring your family?"

He seemed to be thinking about it, and then said, "Sure. I'll ask them when I go home," He looked at his watch. "Well, I better go. I want to take a shower and get all this horse hair off of me." He grimaced, obviously not a horse person.

"Alright, come around eight and we'll go." He stood up and offered me his hands to help me up. I took both and he hoisted me up from the barn floor. Of course, being me, I tripped and fell back into Edward arms. He held me and I could feel him laugh.

"Are you going to be okay, you know, getting to the house and everything without tripping?" He asked. Then frowned, "You're getting awfully clumsy today. Nerves?"

"Yep, how'd you know?" I asked sarcastically.

"Hmmm. By you falling on me all the time." Then he gasped, "Ah, is that it?!" He made an 'Awww' sound. "You're in love with me, aren't you?" He smiled a bashful smile.

"Oh, Shut UP!" I whacked him one on the shoulder. "Now go home and take your shower!!"

He left, but I could hear him singing, 'Bella's in love with me, Bella's in love with me.'

"HEY!!! EDWARD!!!??????" I yelled out the door, he was already at his car. Yeah, this was going to be fun.

"YEAH??" He yelled back.

"WANNA TEST OUT MY SHOTGUN?????YOU CAN BE THE TARGET!!!!!!!" Even from here, I saw his face go white. He must have a phobia of guns. Then it went red and he quickly got into his car and sped off down the lane. "Darn."

Three and a half hours later, Edward showed up in his Volvo. Nobody was with him, so either they didn't want to come, or Edward didn't ask them. He got out and I saw that he had fresh clothes on-he had a green flannel shirt on with his jeans and boots. He was the most stunning, good-looking guy I had ever seen. I stood up from the steps on the porch. I hadn't really dressed up for it. Usually the girls all wore jean skirts, but I just wore my jeans and a white tank-top with my boots on. I also brought a jacket, just in case.

"Ready?" I asked, heading to my truck.

"Ummm." Edward said, so I turned to look at him and saw him look uncertainly at his car. "Can I ride with you?"

"Of course. That's what I was asking anyways. I doubt anyone would appreciate a Volvo at the country cook-out." I said laughing, thinking of what would happen if we brought Edward's shiny, new Volvo and parked it along the rusty, dirt/mud covered trucks.

"Alright." We got into my truck and headed off to Sam's place. "So…ready to dance?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**One of the reviewer's wrote about 'no way Charlie would be up walking around after a stroke.' Well, my Grandpa did. He had his stroke on his 50****th**** anniversary, Alaskan cruise. Yeah, fun. Anyways, he sat in a wheelchair for a few days afterwards and then used a cane the rest of the time. So… I'm just going from that. Also, from this chapter on, there will be a lot of drama. A LOT.**

_**Chapter 8 (Bella's POV)**_

About an hour later, we pulled up to the party. It was in full swing with the music blaring. Perfect, just great. I looked over to Edward and remembered something, "Hey, Edward?"

"Yeah?" He took his eyes off the crowd and turned to look at me.

"Just to tell ya, the songs-there not all country." I said, but when he looked confused, I added, "They mix genres. There's some pop and the top twenty or so, but it is for the most part, country."

"I was wondering why they were playing this song." He looked back at the DJ; the band looked like they were getting ready to play. The DJ were playing one of Linkin Park's songs.

"Ready?" I asked him, wondering what this night was going to bring. I hadn't seen any people from school for about month now. And I haven't talked to any of the guys except a few times. So, I was wondering what they would say to me. Though I didn't talk to many people at school, I still wondered.

"Yeah, let's go." We got out of the truck and I went over to Edward's side where he was waiting for me. "I've never been to one of these. Only social gatherings and such."

"Well, let's go enjoy, shall we?" I asked him.

He gave me a breath-taking smile, "We shall, ma'dam."

As we walked through the crowd, I saw a few familiar faces. Then I saw Emily, I took Edward's hand and went over to her, thankful Sam wasn't with her. He was nice, but he was quiet. A creepy quiet. Like anything I say will be used against me. He hung out with a few of younger guys. And they all looked alike. Again, creepy. But Emily helped Charlie and me when we went through Renee's death. She called a couple times after Charlie had his stroke, we talked for a hour or two, but usually Sam came home with the guys and she had to get off and make them lunch or supper. It was like they ruled her life. So, I talked with her whenever I could, surprised that no one else ever came up and talked to her. Only the old guys did, including Charlie (AN: HINT HINT, guys.)

"HI!!" I hugged her as I greeted her.

"Hi!" She looked beautiful as ever. Her scars just added to her beauty. That's the one thing I actually liked about Sam. He still stayed with her, even though she had scars on her face. He loved her, unconditionally. Maybe that's why he's always near her. He doesn't want her to get hurt by a bear again. "I'm surprised to see you here! Charlie said you wouldn't come!"

So Charlie was here. Probably talking to all his old buddies. "Huh."

She noticed my tone and quickly looked at Edward, "Hi, I'm Emily." They shook hands and Edward offered his name. "Do you mind if I speak to Bella privately?"

"Umm" He looked at me for confirmation, I nodded. "Sure. We can dance later."

WHAT!!! Before I could say anything, we were heading to her house, to her kitchen and sat down at the table. "What's the matter, sweetie? Sam said that Jake told him Charlie was staying at Billy's all week long."

"Charlie's gone off on one of his rants again." I said simply, not keeping up the happy expression.

"Oh, honey." She came around and hugged me. "What happened?"

"I decided to ride my horse one night. He was gone the next morning. I haven't seen him since, neither has he talked to me. I called this morning, but he wouldn't talk to me. Jake did." I said grimly.

"Yes, I noticed that Jake and the guys came here without you. Does it happen to deal with the boy you came with?" She asked, remembering Edward.

"No, it started long before that. Edward's helping me on the farm for the past week and this week. Jake, Quil, and Embry decided they wanted to spend more time with their friends, meaning each other, having fun and chasing girls. So, I just ignored them. I needed them when everybody quit and Charlie had a stroke, but they didn't want to help, so I just got on with work and put off anything else." I finished talking and looked out the window. I saw Sam and the others looking at us, but then they looked away.

"You should have told me! Sam would gladly help. So would Jared and Paul. They'll happily work for you if you ask." She said hopefully.

"No, it's fine. I can do it." Then I realized that Edward was leaving in a week and all the work would be piled onto me again. "But if I need anything, I'll call. Which I probably will after this week. Edward's going to school at Fork's, so it'll just be me again."

"Bella…" I could feel a lecture coming on. "You should be in school too. You are only seventeen. You're going to wear yourself out! Bella." She took my hands in hers. "Promise me you'll try and go to school. Promise me you'll call if you need anything at all. Even if it's just to talk. I just realized that you don't have anybody to talk to!...Except?...Edward?"

"Yeah." I blushed. "I do talk to him a lot more, now that Charlie isn't there and he is." I remembered our afternoon at the pond and blushed evener more.

"What's going on between you two?" She asked playfully. That's what I liked about Emily-she was like my mom but also my best friend.

"I think I'm—" I was interrupted by Sam and the other two guys coming in.

"Hello, my beautiful." Sam wrapped his arms around Emily, pulling her close. He kissed her face, her scars, leaving nothing untouched. I left quietly, giving a small wave good-bye. I walked to the place where Emily and I left Edward, but couldn't find him. But I did find Charlie, laughing among his friends. I looked closer, he held a beer in his hands. He shouldn't be drinking, especially with his condition!

I walked up to him, "Hi, Dad!" I acted all cheerful.

He seemed surprised to see me, "Hey, Bella."

"Should you be drinking that?" I asked, adding a 'tsk' at the end.

His expression was one of confusion. Did he not remember his condition? "Yeah. Why not?"

He took another drink of the beer. His friends stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt the 'father-daughter' moment. What a wonderful moment, huh.?.

"Charlie." I was no longer calling him Dad, and he noticed. He had sadness in his eyes, but his mouth turned into a harsh frown.

"HEY!! Charlie!" A new voice joined the conversation. I looked over to see Mr. Newton. I didn't see Mike anywhere and quickly relaxed.

"Hello, Michael." Charlie's tone was not happy.

"It's good to see ya!" He clapped Charlie on the back. "Been wondering how you been doing. Especially how you've been holding up."

"Just fine and dandy." I wondered for a second if Charlie had been drinking a little too much.

"Well, that's good." He looked thoughtful for a second. Then I knew that this was no greeting or to see if Charlie was okay. He was up to something. I was right too, he had no trouble getting on to what he wanted to know, "I was wonderin….if you were you going to do 'Field's of Fun' this year? It is the five year anniversary of it never happening. I've heard talk you were going to put it on this year and was wondering if it was true."

My anger fumed, I could barely control myself. No way were we planning the event. I had enough work as it is. And I couldn't believe the nerve of the guy! To say he 'heard' it. He was probably the one to say it around town, IF it was actually going around.

"NO. It is NOT." I said, quite forcefully. Charlie looked at me, somewhat thankful I was there, but also not, because he had his own mouth to talk through.

"Why not? It would be great for everybody! We all miss it! It was the one thing we all enjoyed around here and now it's gone!" He was saying all this quite loudly too, catching the eyes and ears of people around.

"I'm quite sorry, but we have enough work as it is, and cannot pull it off." I gave an angry smile.

"Oh, Charlie, surely you can make your own decisions!?!" He grabbed Charlie by the shoulders and turned him towards him. "You _have_ to do it! What do you say?"

"Umm.—" Charlie was either thinking how to get out of it, or giving up.

"Yes?" Mike's dad looked hopeful, and excited. Only for the crowd though. I bet ten bucks he was trying to push us to our limit. Charlie shrugged his shoulders and was about to say something when Michael. "YES!!! HE SAID YES EVERYBODY!!! THE FIELD OF FUN IS ON!!!!!"

I looked at Charlie and he only shrugged. I wanted to slap both of them, I whispered harshly to Charlie, "I have enough work to do. You better tell them that it is NOT going to happen."

But…to my surprise, Mr. Newton spoke to me, "You tell them yourself."

Charlie didn't say anything. He had way too much to drink, but I was tired of taking care of him and the farm. So I just turned and walked away. I saw Emily and Sam at the doorway, Emily had a sad expression on her face and raised her eyebrows, wanting to know if I needed anything. I turned away, walking towards my truck, I was about halfway there, when someone seized my arm.

"Bella, what's wrong?" I looked up to see Jake's worried face.

My anger came back from him leaving me and doubled with Charlie and Michael-it wasn't a good thing. I shrugged out of his grip, "Nothing."

I turned to walk away from him, but Quil and Embry were waiting for me. "Bella, tell me. Something's wrong. You can't hide it from us."

"Humpf. Leave me alone. You have this past month, surely you can tonight. It can't be that hard." It was a slap in their faces, but I didn't care. Right now, I just wanted to go home. Not to my room. Not to the house, but to the stables. Where mom was. At least her heart was there. Everybody knew she loved her horses more than anything. They say that's all she married Charlie for. But I knew she loved him at least once upon a time.

"Bell's…" Jake's hurt voice rang in my ears, but I just wanted to get away from everybody. I was close to crying, but I didn't want to in front of everybody.

"She said leave her alone." I looked behind Jake and saw Sam and Emily, accompanied by Paul and Jared. Jake's face turned angry and he quickly swung at Sam. Quil and Embry stepped in front of me, backing up Jake. But somebody took me from behind, putting one hand over my mouth to cover my scream and one hand around my waist. I breathed in through my nose and smelled the familiar smell and I instantly relaxed.

Edward.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 9 (Bella's POV)**_

I relaxed and Edward removed his hand. I felt his breath by my ear and heard him whisper, "Hurry, follow me."

We left quietly, leaving the fight that had broken out. I waved to Emily and she just nodded a little, not giving anything away in case Quil or Embry noticed. We ran to the truck and I started it up and the fight was over. Sam had won.

Edward saw too. He scooted over to me, "Guess I could've made you dance. He wouldn't have hurt me none."

I was confused by what he said, then remembered my warning of Jake punching him if I asked him. I laughed a little, but sighed as I remembered. "I'm so tired of it all, Edward."

He wrapped an arm around me. "You want me to drive?"

"Not that kinda tired. Well, yeah I am. But, tired of everything else. Do you think I could just sleep forever? Like sleeping beauty? Never wake up again?" I must have been so worn out, that I didn't even realize Edward had traded me spots and was driving us home. "Edward?"

I looked up at him through heavy eyelids, "Yes?"

"Where did you go?" I asked, almost asleep.

"Umm, I'm right here.-OH! I went to go get something to drink when you went with Emily. Then somebody started talking to me and I got caught up. I heard yelling and saw you and well, you know the rest." His arm was warm against my side and I curled up against him.

"Thanks." I said as I fell asleep. The last thing I remembered was Edward kissing my forehead, so softly, so sweetly.

I woke up in my bed with Edward beside me. Wow. How did that happen? I tried to move, but his arms held me secure against him. I laughed and then looked at what time it was. Six thirty. Time for work. I looked out the window and saw that it was raining. Oh Happy Day! I could sleep in for an extra hour before it got light enough to work. I heard movement beside me and saw Edward open his eyes.

"Hi." He said softly. His eyes were so beautiful, I still couldn't get enough.

"Hey. Good morning." I lay back down and stared at him.

"Mmmm. Good mornin'." He said, closing his eyes again.

"May I ask you something?" He nodded his head and breathed in, smiling as if in bliss. "What are you doing in my bed?"

He opened his eyes, wide. He glanced over at me and bit his lip, "Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm."

He looked really embarrased-the blush absolutely pure red. He looked absolutely adorable. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Nothin' wrong about it, I just wanted to know."

He exhaled, and smiled a brilliant smile. This was the best morning ever. Having a hot-no, screw that-the most hottest, handsomest, everything and anything, guy in your bed as you wake up.

"Well, I decided to stay, especially when you told me to." He chuckled.

I frowned, not remembering anything about that. He must have seen the confusion. "You were asleep and called out my name. I decided to stay, just in case something happened." I remembered Charlie being drunk and Jake being mad.

"Thank you." I was grateful, and wrapped my arms around him, giving him a kiss on the lips this time. He accepted it and rolled on top of me. But he ruined the moment by tickling me. "EDWARD!!!!!"

He got off me and ran out my door. "YOU ARE SO DEAD! EDWARD!!!"

I saw him peek in my room, he had a fearful expression on his face, but his eyes had a playful look in them, "You don't have your shotgun in here? Do you?"

I laughed. Nope, it's in the same place it has been. "Nah. I wouldn't shoot ya! You're too funny to shoot."

"Nah-uh." He gave me a smirk. "I know the real reason." He came closer, to my bed and sat on the edge, beside me. "You love me."

He said in an awing way. I laughed, "Yep, I do. It's true."

He quit his playful way and took his hands in mine. "I love you, Isabella. All in one week. But I do." He looked up from our entwined hands and smiled his face full of love.

"I love you too, Edward. It's amazing, so fast. But, I connect with you. I can tell you anything." I smiled, realizing that I told him more about my life than anybody else.

"Then, would you mind telling me what happened last night that had you breaking down? Was the food that bad?" He was trying to lighten the mood and ask a serious question at the same time.

"I didn't even get to the food. Emily and I had our talk and then I went outside to look for you. I saw Charlie drinking and he's not supposed to! Anyways, I went over to him, but he was too drunk to be rational. Mr. Newton came over and…" I breathed out. "Now I have even more work to do." I couldn't handle anymore. I still had my homework to do and school to finish. "Maybe we should sell the farm. I'm tired of handling all this on my own."

He gathered me in his arms and held me close. "What do you mean? More work?"

"Mr. Newton announced that we would be having 'Field's of Fun' again, to everybody. And Charlie didn't object or anything." I felt tears go down my face.

"What's that? Field's of Fun?" He asked, wiping away my tears with his fingers.

"It's like an early Fourth of July party. It was Mom's idea and though she and Charlie planned it the first few years, I started helping with it the last two years we actually had it. Renee died the day before the party, five years ago." I remembered what was going to be announced. But it was too late. She was already dead.

"But what exactly was it?" He asked again.

"During the day, we had different things set up in different fields. One field we had horse rides. Another, we had rodeo. At night, when the sun went down, we had a band and dancing. We had firework's. Fun. We all had fun. We stopped doing it after Renee's death. We canceled that last one. And never had another." I ended my story, but then remembered Jake.

"Jake. You asked about Jake. Well, I was already pissed and angry at Charlie, so when Jake stopped me, I just got worse. It wasn't his fault, really. I just wanted to get out of there." I looked up and saw another question come out of his mouth.

"What did he want?" I could see worry in his face.

"He wanted to know what was the matter. He probably would've yelled at Charlie for what he did, but Jake doesn't know anything that's happened in the past few weeks. So he might not of." I realized that Jake hadn't a clue what's been going on on our farm.

"No excuse." He said, shaking his head. "He should've been here for you, but he wasn't."

"But I'm happy now." I said smiling. "Now, I have you." I snuggled into his chest and felt his head rest on mine.

"Yes, you do have me. And I have you." He said softly. I soon fell back to sleep.

When I was awake, once again, I noticed it was lighter out and there was no one beside me. I looked to the clock and my eyes bulged. 2:00.

"I was wondering when you would wake up." I looked to my doorway to see Edward, his clothes soaked. His hair was dripping, even though he was towel drying it.

"What happened to you?" I asked, getting up and walking over to him.

"It's hard to work in rain." He said, laughing.

I laughed too. "Come on. I'm sure we have some clothes around here. Someplace." But before I could move, he wrapped his hands around me.

"Actually, I was thinking about going home and—"

"Already?" I interrupted, sad that he was leaving me.

He laughed and brushed his lips against mine. "No, I was thinking about taking you home with me. I don't want to leave you here. Plus, all my siblings should be at work. Esme should be home, but who knows."

"Alright, let's hurry. You'll catch a cold." I stood back and realized, I too, was now soaked. At least in the front, where I was touching Edward.

"Fine with me." He smiled and kissed me once more, before leaving the room. In less than ten minutes, we were off to his house.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 10 (Bella's POV)**_

"Wow." I said as I looked up at the huge white house. More like a mansion.

"You like it?" Edward asked, looking at me.

"Like it? I love it!" I was in awe. Why was he working for us when he had this huge-Oh, yeah, his parents made him. I laughed at the memory.

"Come on." Edward came around to my side and opened my door.

"Awe, you're so gentlemanly." I said when he opened the door again, to the house this time. I was rewarded with a cute blush. Awe.

"So, this is the living room." He waved around the huge room. It was as big as a ballroom dancing floor. "Back through there is the kitchen, but this is the dining room."

"Edward? Is that you?" A voice called through the house. I looked up to see Esme coming down the stairs. It's been awhile since I seen her last, probably a year or two. "Bella?"

She came down faster and hugged me tightly. I could barely breathe. "Hi, Esme."

"Oh." She pulled back. "It's been so long."

"Yes, it has."

"You've met?" Edward looked curious.

"Remember when I said your parents helped Charlie and me after the…" My throat went dry as the sentence went to dust.

"Oh, yeah. Forgot." He looked at his mom and immediately changed the subject. "Is anybody else home?"

"No. Carlisle should be home early though, so you might see him. The rest went shopping in the city." Esme said kindly. Kindly. She said everything so nice and kind. She was the most generous person I have ever met. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

"No thank you." I looked at Edward. "He needs to change his clothes, he's soaked to the bone."

Esme finally took in her son. Her eyes went wide as she saw his wet hair, clothes and shoes. "Edward! Go take a hot shower! You must be freezing! You're going to catch pneumonia!"

I smiled at her Mom 'ness. My mom never really cared. All she liked about the country was the horses. She loved the city and people, but horses-she loved them more than anything. More than me. More than Charlie. Her family. The reason why she made up the Field of Fun was so she could talk and show-off. She loved to be the center of attention. But she did change that last week when we found out. She started…

"Bella? You wanna come up? You can listen to music while I take a shower and change." Edward's voice broke my concentration and I followed him up the stairs, hugging Esme before.

"So… where we going?" I asked, as we started down the hallway.

"My room." Edward smiled at me, while his cheeks had a slight red tint to them.

My own face went red at his answer. We walked in his room and once again, I was in awe. "Seriously. Why do you have to work?"

"Hmm?" Edward asked confused. It dawned on him when he saw where I was looking. At his wall of cds. He had hundreds, maybe thousands. "Oh, I collect them wherever I go. Plus my brothers and sisters (AN:notice how they never say names? Remember that!) always add to it. They download the songs, then put the cds back. Carlisle and Esme put theirs in too. So it's everybody's, if anybody needs something, they can find it."

He went to, what I guess was his closet and started talking again. "You can either use the stereo or the portable cd player." He came out again, holding clothes. "Or, if you can find it, I have an Ipod somewhere around here."

"Okay." I went over to see what kind of music he had. "How do you sort them?"

"Umm. By year and then preference." I looked back to see what his hesitance was. He was looking at me, in kind of an awe expression.

"What?" I asked bluntly.

"Nothing. You just-nothing." He went red again. "Umm, I'm going to go take my shower."

"Wait!" I ran over to him and kissed him. He didn't have time to react before I pulled back. "Okay." I smiled and ran back. I waited for footsteps but didn't hear any, so I looked back at Edward, who was still in shock. "Ya alright?"

"Yeaaahhh." He blinked several times, then dropped his clothes on his bed. He had a smirk on his face as he walked over to me. He cupped my face with his hands. And lightly kissed my nose, cheeks, forehead, and finally my lips. But as he did the last, his hands fell to my sides and he began tickling me. I felt him smile against my lips before I broke away.

"EDWARD!!!!" I tried to get away, but couldn't. He held me in his arms.

"Now, who's teasing who now?" He asked smugly.

"Oh, just go take you shower." I said against his chest. But he didn't move and neither did I. I was probably wet again, but I didn't care.

We finally pulled away after a little bit. He kissed me one more time, this one lasting way longer than our previous kisses.

I finally picked a CD out, 'The Wonders' and stuck it in his stereo. I didn't see a chair or anything comfortable except his bed, so I sat down on it and listened to it. But I grew uncomfortable and lay down, on my stomach. I had my eyes closed and was listening to 'The Thing You Do' when the bathroom door opened. I didn't open my eyes until I felt a shift in the bed. Edward put his arm around me, and lay beside me. We listened to the album a few more times before I realized the sun was down.

I tried to get up, but Edward was holding me down. "Edward—"

He was asleep and looked so peaceful, like this morning. I heard footsteps coming down the hall and my eyes widened at getting caught. I shook Edward, and he awoke, slowly.

"Edward, wake up!" I whispered, hurriedly.

A knock came at the door, "Edward?"

It was male and Edward immediately sat up. He bolted to the door and I went to the now silent stereo. The bed didn't look too messed up. I ran my fingers through my hair, making sure it didn't look messy or anything.

"Edward, Esme told me you were home. I was wondering if you two wanted to eat supper with us?" I turned around and looked at Carlisle. I remembered his voice when he started talking.

"Um, sure." Edward said when I nodded.

"Alright, we'll be ready to leave in ten minutes. We're going to that new restaurant, Little Big Horn. (Real place.)" Carlisle then left, leaving us to each other. Edward came and stood beside me, as we gazed out his huge windows. I thought I saw something in the woods, but it could've been just a rabbit or something.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 11 (Bella's POV)**_

I came home to find Jake and his car out front. He was either here to tell me sorry, or that Charlie was staying longer. Or both.

"Hey," Edward grabbed my hand. "Are you going to be okay? Do you want me to stay?"

I gave him my best smile, though still weak. "I'll be fine."

I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. At the last second, Edward turned to have his lips meet mine. We finally stopped when we heard a horn. We looked up to see a glaring Jake.

"Call me, as soon as you can." Edward said, making me turn my attention back to him. "I want to know if your okay or not."

"I'll be fine, Edward." I told him once again. "But thank you for caring."

I got out and as soon as I was by Jake, Edward took off. Jake relaxed and took me in a bear hug as soon as Edward was out of sight.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to snap at you last night. I just wanted to know what was wrong, why you were crying." Jake mumbled into my hair. "I just wanted to have our friendship back. I miss you."

I pulled back and saw that Jake was bruised from his fight with Sam. I touched his face, where the faded purple was. It was almost gone! "Sam won, in case you're wondering."

"Jake…"

"Bells, I'm sorry. I just-I just. I don't know." He through up his hands and pounded on his car. "I don't know what to do. I want to go back to yester years and still be happy."

"Jake?" I was confused. "What's the matter? Why aren't you happy?"

He chuckled and looked sadly at me. "It's nothing, Bells." He put his face, still leaning on the car, in his hands. "Nothing and everything."

I put my hand on his shoulder, "Jake…?"

He instantly tensed and said, "Bella, Charlie's inside. I brought him home after Billy heard what happened." He turned to me. "He's sorry, Bella. Both of them are." He laughed, but it wasn't his regular laugh, it was forced. "All three of us are sorry."

"Please, tell me what's wrong!" I grabbed his arms, seeing I can't reach his shoulders except when he's leaning over. He pulled away from my grasp.

"Bells, he wants to talk to you. Charlie, I mean. He wants to say sorry for what he's done."

I turned my face and looked to the stables, "No. He's not. He said enough to me last night. The truth comes out when your drunk." I turned back to him, and left towards the fields, away from the house.

"Bella!" Jake called pleadingly. "Please."

"Jake. Go home. It's not your fight. It's not your problem. It's mine. Now, just GO!!!" I heard the gravel crunching under his feet, but not away from me, but instead, towards me.

"Bells, Charlie wasn't drinking."

"Yes, he was. I saw the beer bottle in his—" Jake shushed me with his hand.

"No, it was root beer. IBC. Charlie won't drink, Billy's asked him because he keeps forgetting." He laughed. He saw my conflicting expressions. And tugged me the way I was heading before he stopped me. To our favorite place when we were kids. The barn.

We used to stay in the attic all the time, just playing and talking. Once we got up, I grabbed the blanket I always kept up there and spread it out. We lay by each other, not talking or anything, just thinking. I wondered how my life became so incredible twisted. The only good thing I had right now was Edward. And he wasn't going to be here anymore, this was his last week. The last thing I thought about before drifting off was why was Jake unhappy? He was supposed to be having fun, chasing girls, working on his car. What made him so depressed?

I awoke to Jake snoring softly. He must've fallen asleep too. I heard a ringing noise and quickly got my phone out of my pocket, before Jake woke up.

"Hello?" I whispered.

"Bella?" Edward asked, quite loudly. "Where are you?"

"What? Why? What time is it?" I asked, looking at my phone. I had only been asleep for ten minutes!!!!

"BELLA!!?? What happened?" Edward was panicking. Hmmm. That wasn't hard to figure out. "Did he hurt you? To make you unconscious? Are you alright? That's it, I'm coming. I'll be there in a few minutes."

I had no time to talk as he hung up. Great. This wasn't going to be good. I shook Jake and told him Edward was coming and I was going to go meet him outside. Jake's eyes grew black and he laid his head back down, breathing heavily, not saying anything.

I heard Edward's car already. He must have been waiting on the road, out of sight. That little bugger. I climbed down the ladder and ran outside to see Charlie on the deck and Edward getting out of his car, heading towards him.

"EDWARD!!!" I screamed. I ran right into him and tackled him to the ground. He looked absolutely murderous. I probably didn't look too great, or smell too great either.

"Bella, are you alright?" Edward immediately checked my face and then the rest of my head for any bruise for when I was supposedly knocked out.

"I'm fine. I just fell asleep up in the loft." I said, taking his hands in mine. "Jake and I had to talk."

When I spoke of Jake, his hands fell from mine. But when he saw Charlie on the deck, watching us-mostly me, he wrapped a protective arm around me and tucked me into his side.

"I'm not going to hurt my daughter." Charlie's calm voice called out to us.

Edward spoke the words for me, "You already did."

I looked at the ground while they talked. I heard an intake of breathe and the stairs creak as Charlie went down them. "Bella, I'm sorry. I-I don't know what I was thinking. I know that you may hate me, but I hope you can forgive me." He was just feet away, but I refused to look up, to see in his eyes the same look I saw last night. "Bells, please. Come in the house."

I nodded, it was getting pretty dark. The dinner with Carlisle and Esme took longer than planned, not that I'm complaining. It was quite entertaining. I hugged Edward and stepped away from him. I could see conflict in his face, wondering if he should leave me or not. I stood up on my tippee toes and kissed him. "Again, Edward. I'll be just fine. Especially when you come and save me."

He wrapped his arms around me tightly. "That I will do. I promise you that, I will always be there to save you."

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Bella." We shared a quick kiss before he left, but not before giving Charlie a glare.

I turned towards my father. "Bells, I can't tell you how sorry I am about what happened."

"Charlie, I'm tired. Let's just go to bed." I walked past him, but his voice stopped me.

"Umm, Jake is going to be staying with us. He'll be helping out tomorrow while his sisters are in town." I saw Jake walking up to the house.

"Okay…" This was going to be interesting tomorrow.

* * *

I was right too. The next day, Edward and Jake kept sending each other death glares all morning as we worked cattle. I would've just had them do it, but I didn't want to leave them alone.

"Guys? Are you going to do it? Or am I going to have to?!" I was tired, worn out, and wanting to go for a dip in the pond. But with them both here, there was no way that was going to happen.

"I will." They both said at the same time. I got out of the truck and went to the back. "Fine. Settle your differences. Do whatever. As long as you get the job done. I'm going to go work on the tractor."

I probably didn't make any sense to them, but I really needed to get a few things done. At least while I had the help. Though I couldn't call 'em that, more like nuisances. It was amusing, but also irritating at the same time.

I walked up to the barn and put the tractor in the shop. I could have Jake do this, he's really good with machinery, but I didn't want him too. I quickly got underneath the tractor and cleaned off the dirt and oil. The lifter wasn't working on the back of it, so I had to figure out which parts were for it. I finally found them and found that they were unattached somehow.

While I was in the shop, I decided to get Dad's truck in here and make sure it stays in here. I didn't need to worry about him leaving in one of his fits.

I pulled the battery cables off and disconnected the starter. I wouldn't let him have any keys. The keys to the shop, in case he wanted his truck out. The keys to his truck, to go someplace. My keys to my truck. And, just to be safe….the tractor keys. If he wanted to go somewhere really bad, I bet he would use the tractor to get there.

After I was done, I looked outside to see Jake and Edward coming up from the fields. I closed the shop doors and locked it, making sure I had all the keys.

"Hey," I felt Edward's arms come around my waist. "You ready?"

"For what?" I asked, turning around.

"Lunch." He gave a smile.

I growled, not really wanting to go in. I haven't talked to Charlie since last night. And Jake, he was teamed up with Charlie.

"Like I said." He spoke while taking me into his arms, tighter this time. "I will always protect you."

I smiled at that. How could I have found such a perfect man? "How about we go for a swim instead?"

He gave me a weird look. "Bella, you shouldn't avoid him. I bet he'll do anything you ask. Come on, I'll be by your side the whole time." We went to the house, Jake already inside, helping Charlie.

"Sorry we're late!" I said sarcastically. Edward elbowed me. I glared at him, he just gave me a warning glare in return. So I pushed him. HA! Don't mess with me! I am your boss after all.

After Edward righted himself, he reached for me, but I was out of his arm length. I had my back to him, trying to escape, whatever he was doing---AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU EDWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT'S FREEZING COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I lifted the bottom back of my shirt, hoping the ice cubes would come out. I would have to change, he dumped a whole glass of water and ice on me-the water making it even colder. I whimpered as the last ice cube fell. I looked around to see only Jake and Charlie. "Where is he??"

"Right here!!" Edward came around the corner, holding a t-shirt. A dry t-shirt.

I pounced on him. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!!!! HOW DARE YOU PUT ICE AND WATER DOWN MY SHIRT!!!!!!"

He laughed and lifted me off him, as if I didn't weigh a pound. "You started it."

I crossed my arms and glared. He offered the shirt up, giving me puppy eyes, and putting his bottom lip out. He dazzled me for a second, but then I snapped out of it. "NO!!!"

I pushed past him and walked down the hallway to my room. I heard laughter coming from the kitchen, but ignored it. I slammed the door shut and quickly changed. Into my riding clothes. I opened the window and hopped out on the porch. I went around, staying out of sight of the three men, or boys. I ran to the stables, probably being seen-there was no way around that. Unless they simply didn't look. I was almost done, when I saw Edward coming out of the house. I hurried and adjusted the straps. I opened the stall door, mounted Abigail, and took off, across the field, past Edward and down the lane. I kept going, even after I reached the stopping point where our driveway ended. I just kept riding, thoughts flying by me, not able to keep a steady mind, just thinking about the speed. It wasn't much compared to a car or motorcycle, but it was fine with me.

I stopped when I reached the outskirts of town. That was when I realized, Abigail was probably pretty worn out. I dismounted and petted her. We were still on our gravel road, but Abby was jumpy at the traffic going by. She was used to the quiet life.

It wasn't until they were up beside me, when I noticed the car.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 12 (Bella's POV)**_

At first, I thought it would Edward driving my truck, but it was Charlie and Jake. I was surprised that I didn't hear my truck, usually you could tell from a mile away. Guess I was too wrapped up in my thoughts.

"Bells, let Jake take the horse home." Charlie said from the passenger seat. Jake opened the door and got out. He took the reins from me and started walking down back to the house, which was quite a ways away.

"Bella, you have to drive, unless…"

I quickly got in and took off down the highway to get gas. I noticed it was half full when I left it with Jake and Edward. Thankfully I remembered.

"Bells, we have to talk sometime."

"How 'bout we don't and say we did." I refused to look at him.

"I'm sorry. How many times do you want me to say it?!" He asked, exasperated.

"How many times are you going to run me into the dirt." I didn't say it as a question, but rather a mumbled statement.

"Bella…" I looked over to him finally, and saw he was looking out his window. "Jake told me you thought I was drunk that night. I wish I was, so I could blame it on something. But I can't." Silence filled the air of the truck for a few minutes before Charlie started up again. "I have some workers lined up for next week. They'll start Monday, but I want you to go over with them, in the morning, all what their supposed to do. After that…I want you to go to school. You shouldn't be missing it because of me or anything else. There will be times when I'll need you, but your smart Bells. You need to go to school, graduate, do whatever. Not be taking care of your old man at the age of seventeen."

"Dad…"

He laughed sadly. "That's the first time you called me dad since…You just kept calling me Charlie, like a stranger or someone."

"Thank you." I said as we went down our driveway. We passed Jake and Abby, making sure I go slowly to not raise up too much dust.

"No problem. Now, Jake will help you with everything else you need today. Edward had a family emergency to go to, but he should be back tomorrow. He'll call if he can't." Charlie told me, looking at Edward's empty parking spot.

"I'll call him later, make sure everything's all right." I wondered what happened. "One more thing." I looked at him, "What about the party?"

He sighed, "I'll cancel it. But if we do have workers, they'll be able to help. So…it's your choice, boss."

I thought about it, Charlie actually wanted to have it this year. I really didn't know why, but he sounded enthused. At least a little. More than me. "Sure."

"Yes?" He was surprised.

"Why not?" I internally groaned. This wasn't going to be good.

We, Charlie, Jake and I, had a great supper, laughing and talking about anything. About the old times. We kept off the topic of Mom and the horses. Anything that was sad, we didn't. Who would want too!?!?!?! When people want to laugh, they don't say sad things!

Supper was cut short for me, my cell-phone was ringing. Usually I only used it for work, to call Charlie, or anybody else in case of an accident. It was my idea after Charlie's stroke, so he also has one (Not that he ever uses it)

Anyways, I had called Edward about an hour or two ago and he was ringing me back finally.

"Hello? Edward?" I asked.

"Hey, Bella." He replied.

"Hey, how ya doin?"

"Fine, I'm sorry on cutting out early. Something came up with the family." Edward said, not to happy.

"Is everybody okay?" Worry colored my tone.

"Yeah, it's just they were having a family meeting and my sister's got mad." Wow. What an emergency.

"Wow. What were they mad about?" What would they need Edward for?

"Well, one was mad because she wanted to work at a shopping store instead of at the hospital. I gave her the idea when they said I had to work. The other one was mad because I wouldn't have to work after this week." I could hear that he was smiling now. It just burst through the phone. Still didn't see why he had to go though.

"So, you're coming tomorrow?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course. I would have come if you weren't paying me, just to spend time with you."

I blushed, "Aww, you are SO mushy!"

He laughed, "Only with you!"

I laughed again, thinking how corny he sounds.

We talked for another hour, before my battery went low. And Edward, well, he came the next day, and the rest of the week, with no problems. But, on his last day, I was sad, as was he. But he didn't know that I was showing up at school Monday, so I would see him then.

"Hey, I asked my family if they would help with your bash and they said they would." Edward said, giving me a huge, tight hug, not letting me go. "Mmm. I'm going to miss you."

"Me too. And thank you. Lord knows we need the help." We stayed like that (in each other's arms), until he pulled away, having to get home. "Bye."

He gave me a kiss. "Bye, Bella."

"Have fun on your first day of school! Make your mama proud!!!" I said all cheerful. Edward looked at me strangely.

"I'll be sure to make Esme proud, but…" He trailed off, looking weirded out. Then he smiled. "I'll make sure to come Monday morning, and have you wave me off on my first day."

I busted out laughing. If only he knew about my surprise. I was happy Charlie hired those workers, I would be able to go to school more often (grrr) but see Edward (). He finally set off home and I went inside, ready for Sunday. Relaxation Day.

Okay, next chapter is ten pages on word-A BUNCH TO WRITE. But it's pretty funny. And it pulls the plot together-a little. Maybe. Hehehe. Dk. But-it's in Edward's POV and the reason why I said to remember that Edward never says the names, is bc Bella hasn't put two and two together. She doesn't pay attention at school-well not the social ppl or anything. She goes to school, does her homework, comes home and works. So she doesn't realize that Em, Jas, Alice, Rose are Edwards' siblings.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 13 (Edward's POV)**_

I was wondering what had Bella all happy this morning when I went to see her. Today was Monday. First day of actual school for me. It looked like Bella was happy I was leaving, but I thought she….

The bell rang for the end of first hour. All the girls came up to me to ask me what my next class was. Luckily, Emmett saved me and dragged me away. Not that I couldn't handle it on my own, but still, he was big-brother protective.

"Thanks Emmett."

"No problem!" Emmett grinned at me. "Nothing like girls chasing ya, huh?"

"What?" I looked behind me and saw all girls. Behind them, all boys. Except the girls were happy and the guys were glaring. "Hey, I have a girlfriend."

Emmett looked at me weird. "Who? When?"

"I'm dating my former boss." I spoke loud enough so that everybody could hear. Emmett already knew this, but he was letting everybody know. "That's why I had to quit. They had a no boss-worker relationship rule."

"Tsk. It happens." He said apologetically.

"Yeah." I said sadly. From the corner of my eye, I saw Emmett look back, then forward, smiling wide.

"It worked." He chuckled out. We went around the corner and stopped in our tracks. "Uh-oh."

Alice and Rosalie were in standing right there, smiling.

"Nice story guys." Rosalie said. Emmett went to stand by her, holding her in his arms. But first he made sure there were no teachers around to yell at him for PDA. "Too bad it's not true."

"So?" Emmett asked.

"Your letting a lot of girls down Edward. They're wishing they can get with ya." Rose was the one who didn't know I was with Bella. I had told Emmett this morning, strictly forbidding him to tell Rose. Alice noticed a change in me and asked me about and told Jasper, who was also wondering. So Rose, she was the only one who didn't know. She would have bantered me and embarrassed me. Who knows what she would have done? "And why did you guys make up that story? Are you gay, Edward? Is that what you had to talk about with Emmett this morning?"

"No!" Where in the world does she come up with these things? "Rosalie. I think all that blonde hair dye is sinking into your roots and well…your acting like a dumb blonde. Though, you are one, so—"

I quickly stepped back, out of reach from her impending slap in the face. I loved making her mad and making fun of her for her hair. I knew she didn't color it, but it was fun none-the-less.

"You are going to DIE!" She came after me again, but Emmett still had a hold of her. I was laughing from her expression, she looked so murderous. Alice took me away and walked me to my next class.

"Edward, you shouldn't tease her about that." Alice lectured me when we sat down. "It's not nice."

"Yeah and it's just so nice being called gay. How could she think that?" I was still stuck on that.

Alice busted out laughing. Several people turned in their chairs to look at her. "OMG! That was so funny! I thought Emmett would be on the ground laughing!"

I shut up after that. Obviously, today, she was not on my side.

In each of my classes, I was made to stand up and say my name and talk about myself. I was totally bored by fourth hour. I had done all this stuff plus more. My family was right. I could graduate this year.

"Hey. Edward Cullen? Right?" A boy talked to me after the bell rang for lunch.

"Yeah." I replied, shaking his hand.

"Tyler—"

Another kid interrupted us, "Let's go, Tyler. We're going to be late."

I followed them to the long, non-moving lunch line. I looked around to see Emmett and the rest of my family sitting at the last table in the back. Across from that, I saw Bella's friends. She said that they were back to being friends now, but I didn't want her getting hurt again.

A heard whistles go through the crowd and everybody else went silent.

The guy that told Tyler was going to be late for lunch started talking to me. He looked familiar, but I couldn't place him. Pointing to the person who was walking past us. "That, my friend, is the most hottest, smartest, everything, girl in this school. Except your sister, but she's with your brother." He gave a gross, disgusted look. "Anyways, that there," He nodded his head towards the girl. "She's been unattainable since…ever."

"Really?" I asked, completely amused.

"Yup. There was talk of her going out with that group of idiots over there, but they all say they haven't." He kept talking and I kept listening, the line still going extremely slow. He started talking real low, "You see, we have a bet here at the school. The guys I mean. Every guy who wants to compete throws in five bucks. Whoever dates Bella first gets the money. So far, no one has." He grinned. "But I soon will."

I covered up my laugh with a cough. "Really? How do you plan on doing that?"

"Easy. No girl has ever refused me. Well, Bella has, but she won't this time." He said, fully confident in himself.

I didn't even notice Emmett coming up behind me until he clamped a hand on my shoulder.

"What are we talking about?" Emmett said, with a small smile on his face.

I replied, in an amusing tone, "The bet about Bella. Who can date her first."

He grinned. "Well, I throw in ten bucks for Edward."

The guys laughed. "Yeah right. You don't have a chance. Even if you are new."

"I bet…" Emmett leaned in, his smile was mischievous. "I bet you each ten dollars, that he can kiss Bella right in front of everybody. Right now."

The guy scoffed. "Of course he can. But will she?"

"Ten bucks she'll run into his arms the minute she sees" He grabbed my chin "his lovely, darling face."

Again, the guys laughed. "Alright, deal. Ten bucks each. Everybody agree?"

They all did. Emmett went back to sit at his table and we went through the lunch line. I was putting my tray down next to Tyler's when I saw Emmett looking intently at me. He nodded his head, signaling he wanted me to come over.

"I'll be right back, guys." I said to the table, now looking at me to see if I would go to Bella. But I went to stand behind some girl, sitting in front of Emmett.

"What's your problem? I made a bet! Are you going to talk to her?" Emmett started questioning me, before I could even open my mouth, he screamed, "BELLA!"

The whole cafeteria shut up and looked between Emmett and Bella. She turned slowly to see Emmett and frowned. Wonder what made her so mad. Probably Rosalie glaring at her. Emmett pointed to me and everybody turned from Bella to me. When her eyes moved over to me, she smiled. Everybody gasped as if it wasn't an everyday occurance. Maybe not for them, but it was for me.

She immediately got up and proceeded towards us. I opened my arms when she was within reach and held her tight. I lifted her chin up and kissed her, making Emmett win the bet. I didn't want to spoil the moment by asking her why she didn't tell me she was going to be here. We didn't kiss too long. Or too passionate. Not in front of everybody. I saw Emmett grin and Rose looking shocked and confused. HA!! Take that! I'm NOT gay!!

I looked down, while Bella looked up. She blushed, remembering the people around her.

"What happened to your other girlfriend?" A voice came from behind. I turned around to see a girl glaring intently at Bella and I. It was one of the girls from earlier. I looked down and Bella frowned, looking hurt as she looked at me.

She must think I have someone else. I quickly held tighter to Bella as she pulled away. "This is her."

Bella didn't smile. But the other girl did, in fact, she laughed. "Nuh-uh. You said you were with your former boss. And you—"

"Eavesdropping on my brother and I's conversation?" I interrupted. I heard Emmett snort behind us.

She looked uncomfortable. "Well, you said it loud enough."

"It's still rude." I replied. Bella looked like she was trying not to laugh at the girl's obvious discomfort. It appeared she had figured it out. But I was still displeased. Could she think of me that low? To go out with multiple girls? "Anyways, Bella was my former boss."

The girl gasped. Bella waved and said, "Bye Lauren."

She pulled me away, taking me to in the direction of her table.

"You really think I would go out with someone else?" I asked, while wrapping an arm around her waist.

She bit her lip. "I thought you would have a girlfriend already."

"Bella." I said disapprovingly as we sat down amongst Jake and the rest of them. They had come to visit Bella a few times in the last week, making up for the time they lost.

"Hi guys! You know Edward." She said to the table. They looked really ecstatic-note the sarcasm.

"Hey." I said, when Bella nudged me.

"Hey, Edward, right?" I turned and saw the guy I was talking to in line.

"Yeah."

"I'm Mike. Mike Newton." Finally it clicked. The idiot stalker boy that Bella was talking about. "I was wondering if you wanted to sit at our table."

"Um, no." I said, astonished. Couldn't he see that I already had a place to sit? "I'm sitting with my girlfriend."

His eyes flashed over to Bella, who sat with a half irritated/half amused expression. "Oh." He locked on eyes with Bella with a hurt look, "I thought we were going out, Bella."

Her eyes widened to the extreme. "WHAT!?!?!"

"Well, you remember." He started getting all cocky and arrogant. "Last month, we had that little fling."

"I think you might have dreamed that up, Mike. Because, there is NO WAY I would go out with you." Bella looked furious. I looked over to Jake and all three were standing up.

"No, I don't think I did, especially the part when you-" I didn't even see Jake move around to us. His fist came out of nowhere. HE came out of nowhere. But it was amusing how Mike went screaming to the nurse about his broken nose.

"Jake! You are going to be in so much trouble!!" Bella screamed at him. Right now, I don't think Jake cared too much. Plus, he was looking a bit ferocious. He looked at Bella in a way that immediately made me step in front of her. Jake stared me down and was coming after me when some teachers came in, telling-more like yelling- at Jake to get to the Principal's office. NOW. He didn't listen, just kept glaring at me. Waiting to pounce.

"Edward, what are you doing? I-" Bella's voice cut off as a new one joined.

"Bella, shush. Jake's not acting normal." One of the boys told her. Jake looked over my shoulder, finally breaking the staring/glaring contest. Something seemed to click and he loosened up, all the tension going away from his stance. He looked at me, his eyes less cold and possessive than what they were, and he quickly sped out the cafeteria.

The chatter that had ceased, resumed and Bella hugged me. "What a first day, huh?"

I laughed. "And of course, it was about you."

I heard and felt her snort against my back. I was prying her hands off when the bell rang. "Well, better go. Bye Edward!!!"

She was gone before I could turn around. How in the world did she do that? And why? I frowned, but Alice came up beside me. She giggled. "Rosalie still thinks your gay."

I rolled my eyes, not even commenting on Rose's intellectual being. "Come on, let's go. You said you had this hour with me."

We went to a class room with desks like a chem lab. Or biology, since this was a biology class. The teacher, not making me go in front of the class, just sent me to sit with Alice, in the very back. She started talking to me about Bella and what happened at lunch. Along with why Rose still thinks I'm gay. I didn't ask, though, not bothering with my sister's reasons.

"Well, I don't understand it, really. But she says it's because Bella hasn't gone with any of the guys here, and they're all straight, but when you come along, you get-"

"Well, look who showed up!" The voice of the teacher was loud enough that it stopped all conversations. Everybody looked to front to see the teacher watching Bella go to her seat, right in front.

"Yeah, I just totally missed your class, ya know?" Bella's sarcasm came out in a drawled accent. And smiled a brilliant smile at him.

The teacher relaxed, rolled his eyes, and went to desk and dug some papers out. He handed them to Bella, "Here's your homework. We have a lab today and test Wednesday."

Bella looked up from her stack of papers, "I probably won't be here Wednesday."

The teacher sighed, "Then when are you Bella? You really need to start coming, your not going to get your credits."

"Umm, what's the test over?" She asked, uncertainly.

"Mitosis and meiosis." He said simply. "And also chapter thirteen of your book."

I couldn't see her face, but her voice brightened, "Oh good! Can I take it today?!"

I might not have been able to see her face, but the teacher's I could see perfectly. "What?"

"I've read over all of it and was wondering if I could take it today?" She said again.

"You need to do the lab first, then if you finish with enough time, I'll let you do the test. But I will ask a few questions to make sure your ready for it." He looked uncertain, but still let her.

"Okay." She happily said.

"Alright, class. Today we have a lab over mitosis. The slides and microscope are beside you and you may NOT use your books. You may begin. Everything you need should be on the desks." The teacher said, he went around, making sure everybody was doing okay. But he always watched Bella. We were on slide three when Bella came up to him.

"Mr. Banner?" He took the lab, going over it and then went to his desk. Alice and I had already done this lab, but I took over for her, biology my strong suit. We were done within minutes.

"Go take it to Mr. B." Alice handed me the sheet with our answers. I walked up next to Bella and she jumped when I wrapped my arm around her waist. When she saw it was me, she released the tension and smiled.

"Jeez, give me a heart attack. I didn't even see you in the class!" She swatted my shoulder. Mr. Banner cleared his throat, getting the attention back to him.

"Mr. Cullen, do you need something? Is the lab to hard?" Bella laughed, covering it up with a cough.

"No, I would just like to turn in the paper." I gave it to him and turned back to Bella. "Don't run off again. I do need an escort you know."

Bella laughed, "Not a professional escort I hope?"

It took me a moment to realize what she said, then I scoffed, "No, I'll leave that job to my sister."

Her eyes got huge. "Edward! That's mean!"

"Not Alice. Rosalie." Hopefully she wouldn't yell at me. Why were girls so squeamish about that?

She smiled a little, but tried to hold it back. "It's still mean."

She must know my sister, "Have you met Rosalie?"

She raised her eyebrows, "She has a vendetta against me."

This was new, "What for?"

"Stealing Emmett away from her." She laughed at something.

"You went out with my brother?" I thought she said she never went out with anybody. I was going to kill Emmett for not telling me.

"NO!" She realized what she said and corrected it. "I mean, in gym, I kinda, well…" She trailed off. "Interrupted their make out session. I was going for the ball and ran into Emmett. Literally. And it ended up by me sitting on him. Rosalie screamed at me for 'taking her man'. She's never gotten over it." Her worry went back to happy, "Though he just started laughing and simply got up. He'll never let me live it down, he keeps teasing me about it."

"That's Emmett." I remembered my brother.

"You know? I completely forgot Emmett and Alice's last names were the same as yours. It never clicked." She said. "I didn't know you were brother's and sister's. Kinda scary." She shuddered, then laughed, "THAT'S why Emmett said 'Don't jump on my brother like you did with me' when I saw him today."

I busted out laughing, making Bella blush beet-red.

"Are you guys even paying attention to me?" Both our heads swung to meet the teacher's. Whoops.

"Sorry." We both said at the same time.

He deeply sighed. "Bella, here's your test. Edward, go sit down."

I kissed her on the cheek, ignoring the teacher. I whispered in her ear, "Meet me after class."

She giggled softly and went back to her seat. I walked back to mine, again, ignoring all the stares. When the bell finally rang, Bella had just finished. While she turned in her test, I got her stuff together, which wasn't much. Just a pencil and her papers she was given.

"Ready loverboy?" I heard her say. That nickname was one I never heard her say.

"Sure, cowgirl. You gonna lasso me to next class?" I don't know where that came from, but hey! If she liked it? I was going to keep doing it.

"You are so weird." She laughed.

"But that's why you love me!" I said, making her smile.

"Please don't say your going to sing again!" She begged.

"Too bad!" We both wrapped an arm around each other's waist. Once we got out into the hallway, I started.

"Bella's in love with me! Bella's in love with me!"

"Edward!!!!!" Bella screeched.

"What?" I asked, "You knew I was going too!"

"I didn't think you would actually sing it!" She looked so red, I was laughing my butt off. This wasn't too good of a thing, because Bella-she avoided me the rest of the day. Not good.

But…in last hour, P.E., she was in there. I came up behind her and put my hands over her eyes. "Bella, your not still mad, are you?"

"Yes. Now remove your hands before I remove them for you." She sounded angry. Uh-oh, not good. Not good at all.

I removed my hands and turned her around, "Please? Don't be mad anymore?"

I made my eyes go wide and my lips pout. It's what Emmett does when he's in trouble. It looked like it was working, her angry expression turned to a dazed one. HAH! IT WORKED!

"EDWARD!!" She slapped me. Not really hard, though. More like a swat. Great, now she was even more mad now that she knew what I tried to do.

I grabbed her in a bear hug before she could get away. She struggled, of course. "Bella, I won't let you go until you say your not mad at me!"

She kept kicking, but I just picked her up and went over to one of the mats on the floor(their playing mat ball-pretty fun game) and plopped us both on it. Me lying on top of her. Luckily, the coach was still in the locker room.

"EDWARD! GET OFF!" I looked down to see Bella's face scrunched up. I started kissing her irresistible beautiful features. She stopped struggling and soon wrapped her own arms around my back. I finally reached her lips when something hit me. On the butt. Hard.

I pulled back to see everybody watching us. And Emmett grinning like it's Fourth of July. I narrowed my eyes and looked around to see what hit me. A kickball. Dang that was really hard.

"Um, Edward?" Bella asked.

"Yeah?" I said, looking into her beautiful brown eyes.

"Can you get off me?" I realized I still had her pinned beneath me. I quickly stood up, and helped her up too.

"Sorry."

"No problem. Though your sister will probably-"

"OW!!!" I turned around to see who threw a foam ball at my head. I don't think these people liked me very much. This time, I saw Rosalie grinning.

I picked up the ball, throwing it directly at her. It hit her, right in the face. She didn't even try to duck.

"EDWARD!" Emmett went rushing to his girlfriend's side. I chuckled, remembering she had a job tomorrow. And she needed her pretty face to model. Emmett picked up a ball, throwing it at me. I turned, waiting for it to hit my back. But it didn't. Instead, Bella had caught it. Before anybody could say anything, the coach came out finally and called for exercises. The tension was thick. And maybe it was a good thing that Bella and I were on the same team as Emmett and Rosalie. Who knows what would have happened if we were opposing sides?

Bella came out of the locker room rubbing her arms. I took her bag off her shoulders and asked, "What's the matter?"

"I have so many bruises." She frowned, looking at the one on her arm.

"Maybe you should just stay on the mat next time." I told her, laughing.

"I did!" She said exasperated. It was true, whenever she got on base, she just sat on the mat, not moving from her position until the inning was done. Even then, she just sat there, being first baseman. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I can't come over?" I asked, depressed.

"Yeah, you can." Then she smiled mischievously. "Your just postponing your torture for when you get home! Emmett and Rosalie are going to beat you're butt."

She was right. The second I stepped one foot in that house, I was dead. And deaf from Rosalie's screaming. "Oh, I can always sleep at your house."

"Yep." She said as we reached her truck. "With the horses."

I stopped, "Hey, that's mean!"

"See ya in ten minutes!" She yelled back as she started her truck. She pulled out and I went to my car, with Alice waiting in it. It may be more then ten minutes.

"You are so dead." Alice said when we pulled up. Sure enough, she was right, because there, on the porch, was Esme, with Rosalie right behind her.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**YEAH!! I finally got on the computer again!!! **

_**Chapter 14 (Bella's POV)**_

Edward was grounded. So were his sister and brother. I thought it was hilarious. Edward had perfect aim. He never did come over, Esme got to him before he could make a getaway. He still had his cell phone, so we talked on that. Thank goodness they were only grounded for a week. I told Charlie what happened-though, not including the make out scene- and he thought it was hilarious also.

But when I talked about Jake, he changed the subject and soon said he would go call Billy and ask if he was okay. Something fishy was going on, but I didn't push the subject.

I went to school on Tuesday, and when I saw Edward, the first thing I noticed was a two inch cut on his cheek.

"Rosalie." He simply said. He took my hand and started off to class. "She's grounded for a whole month now. Esme threatened to not let her go to prom."

He was smiling throughout the whole thing, so he must not have been too worried about it. The day went fine, even in P.E. Edward grinned like a lunatic.

Wednesday was a busy day. Charlie and I were going through stuff for the party. We needed to get stuff ready. I had already made the flyers and was having Quil and Embry put them up. Thursday, we were going to the city to get supplies.

"Dad?" I said, taking out some lanterns. "We don't have as many horses as we used to, how are we going to—"

"I'll ask around." Charlie interrupted.

"Okay." We went back to work. Me asking questions every do often and adding things to our shopping list. "Dad, how are we going to get a band in a less than a month?"

"Easy, just ask me." I looked over to see Edward, standing in the doorway.

"Okay, Mr. Know-it-all. Where are we going to get a band?" I asked, going over to him.

"Well, let's see. You know I can sing, and I bet-"

"Hey, Edward." Charlie came from outside. What? I thought he was down here?

"Edward just volunteered to be our singer for the music." I told Charlie.

"Well…"Charlie obviously had nothing to say.

Edward laughed. "Don't worry. Bella's the only one who has to succumb to my singing."

"Thanks." I mumbled. Charlie left again, going to the house to give us some privacy.

"Anyways, Carlisle knows some people. I can ask him." Edward went on.

"Call him." I said, turning my attention back to the boxes with junk in them.

Fifteen minutes later, we had a band. Carlisle had given us the number and said they were perfect and that was good enough for me. They were hired.

"Mumpf!" I kissed Edward on the cheek. "Thank you!"

"Why, your welcome." He dipped me and kissed me on the lips. He was so cliché. "So this is why you were gone today?"

"Yep. And tomorrow, I'll be gone again. Charlie and I are going to the city to pick up things for the party." I said, not looking at him. I had gone two days-in a row- to school and now I was back to this. He wasn't too happy.

"Bella…" He was livid. "You should be going to school."

"Charlie can't drive." I said, as an excuse.

"Wait one second." He let go of me, and went out the door. I heard him talking, so it must have been on a cell. He came back in, regaining his former position.

"Aren't you grounded?" I asked before he could say anything.

"Yes." He said. "But, you don't have to go tomorrow. Esme will take Charlie. She's great with shopping. Plus, the rest of my family has volunteered to help you if you need it."

"You know, Emmett called me today." I told him when he brought up family.

"Really? Why?" He was surprised.

"He wanted to know if I was avoiding you." I watched him, making sure I saw everything his face expressed. "He wanted to know if I hated you because of a certain bet."

Confusion. Realization. Fear. All in this order. "Edward, do you have some extra pocket cash?"

"WHAT!?! No!" He said, letting go of me.

"Really? Because Emmett said-"

"Bella, Emmett's just-"

"What am I?" Emmett stood in the doorway, with Alice beside him and Jasper behind her.

"What the heck did you tell her?!?!" Edward looked murderous.

"I just told her that you were in the bet and—" Emmett couldn't block himself as Edward punched him. "Man, have you gotten stronger."

"I didn't enter any bet! Emmett, you are-" Edward was about to hit him again, when I took control of the situation, grabbing Edward's arms and holding them to his sides.

"Edward, calm down." I said, looking up to Edward's angry green eyes.

"Bella, I didn't-" His voice was pleading.

"Yeah, I lied to you." Emmett said, his huge voice bursting over Edward's.

"Why?" I asked without turning around.

"Rose told me too."

I dropped my arms and turned around. "What is her problem?!"

He shrugged, "I don't know. She just really really dislikes you."

"Hates me."

Nobody said anything, but Edward started laughing and pulled me back to him.

"What are you laughing for?"

"She's jealous." Edward said.

"Of what?"

"Of you. Mike was right. You are the most beautiful, hottest, smartest, most kindest everything at the school. And unattainable. Which made Rosalie jealous." I doubt Mike said all that.

"Because she was chained down?" I asked, doubting his theory.

"Because you had freedom." He said.

"Thanks, Edward. Way to kill your brother's heart." Emmett looked heartbroken at Edward's presumption.

"Emmett, Edward doesn't know that. He's just guessing." I said, as Emmett looked like he was going to cry.

"Only one way to find out." He left the barn, and we could hear his truck leave.

"Edward, go stop him. You may have just ruined a great relationship." Alice said. They all left in Edward's car, leaving me here with all this junk. My cell phone rang and I quickly answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bella." It was Quil.

"Hey! What's up?" I asked, walking to another box of junk. "What to come over and help me go through the party crap?"

"Um. I can't. Embry, Jake and I can't." I stopped when he said Jake's name. He was avoiding them too. Did they- "We can't hang out with you anymore."

"What?" I asked disbelieving. "What do you mean? You sound like your really sick. Why can't you-"

"Sorry Bella. It's for the best." The phone went dead as Quil hung up. I sat down and the rain started to pour. Outside and in my heart.

**I'm sorry to say that Jake is a butt in this, I really like him! But, I have to have this for this story. Tell me your favorite parts!!!!!!!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 15 (Bella's POV)**_

Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP! Bad luck. That's what we Swan's had.

"Okay, don't worry about it. It was old anyways." I said as the worker's stood beside me. We were standing around the tractor. Something had blown up and started a fire on it. One of the worker's, Gus, had a hay bale on the back-which didn't help. But luckily he put out the fire before it spread. Right now, we were waiting for it to cool.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to-" He looked completely scared.

"Nobody does. Now, go on with your work. I'll work on the tractor and see what I can do." I set off to the shop to get some tools. I wished Jake was here, but he, like Quil and Embry, had been avoiding me, along with everybody else. They had come back to school yesterday, but completely shut off to everybody.

I headed back to the tractor, trying to shake the thoughts out of my head. There was so much drama the past two weeks. After Edward went home that day, (Two weeks ago) he called four hours later, telling me that Emmett and Rosalie was no longer an item. He sounded guilty, not his usual self. Sure enough, the next day, word spread as the boys heard Rose was now free. The girls weren't too enthused about Emmett, they were quite scared of him, especially when he saw Rose flirting with some boy.

Edward and I sat at our own table, which was deserted since the guys never came back. Alice joined, Jasper coming with. And Emmett came, not being able to stand Rosalie flaunting right in front of him. Our table was filled with laughter as the days passed. Emmett joined in some times, us trying to make him forget his ex-girlfriend sitting the next table over. It worked, sometimes.

Rosalie never talked to us. Edward said she was avoiding going home, staying out late even though she was grounded. Every time she saw Edward and me, she glared. I grew tired of her doing that, but I left it alone. She would soon graduate.

A noise brought me back to reality. I came around the stables and saw one of the horses out, and the workers trying to get her back in.

"STOP!!" I yelled as they tried to grab her. "GET BACK!!!"

If they went anywhere near her, she'd kick. She was pregnant and wasn't too happy at the moment. Gus and Levi backed up, giving me room to get in between them. I walked slowly to Lizzy, talking to her as I put one foot in front of the other. I reached for her, petting her before I took the reins and led her back to her stall.

"What happened?" I asked the two behind me.

"I don't know, she was out running around and we tried getting her back in." Gus answered.

"Well, if it ever happens again, come get me. That horse would have killed you. She's a bit frenzy right now. So, get back to work." I walked back to the tractor, this time paying attention to what I was doing. I finished and realizing the time, I ran back to the house, to take a shower. I would be late for school, but at least I would make it there. It was Friday and we were reviewing for finals that would be held next week.

I quickly dressed after my shower, but a horn honking outside made me go even faster. I ran and stopped dead in my tracks after seeing three horse trailers, two semi's and a few other vehicles in between. Charlie followed me out on the porch, "Well, looks like their a few days early."

"Yeah." The horse trailers were from some of the farmer's that was going to let us use their horses for rides. The semi's, I had no clue on what they held. So I asked Charlie.

"Mm? Oh! We need a dance floor! And a stage. They also hold all the little things. The venders and such." We watched as they came down the dusty lane. "Bella! You should be in school!!"

I laughed at Charlie's expression. He must have just realized that. "Well, I can't go now. Their blocking me in."

"Did you sleep in late?" Charlie asked.

"No, the tractor broke down." No need to tell him specific's.

"Oh, did ya fix it?"

"Yeah." I was so dead when I got to school Monday, the teacher's were going to kill me for missing today. "I'm dead as soon as I step foot in the parking lot. Edward's not going to be too happy. Neither are the teachers. Nobody misses reviewing for finals Friday."

"Take the horse!" Charlie jested. I'm surprised he even said the word horse.

"Yeah, dad. Where am I going to tie her up at? The bike rack?" Though I was seriously thinking I could. "Do you think Sam will let me leave her there?"

Charlie looked at me. "Is today really important? I don't want you riding a horse."

"Dad." I hugged him, "I'll be all right."

He hugged me back, "I know Bells, but I worry."

I stepped back, "I'm going to go call Emily."

About ten minutes later, after much pleading to Em and then Charlie, I was off, trotting down the lane on Blackie. Thirty minutes later, I was at Emily and Sam's house. I dismounted and tied her up, Emily waiting for me in her car. She drove quickly to the school, knowing I was in trouble.

"Thank you so much!" I said as I got out.

"No problem! Good Luck!" She drove off and I went to the office to sign in.

"Well, if it's Miss. Isabella Swan." I turned around in the empty office and saw Mike.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. Stalker with a broken nose." I chuckled as I remembered the scene.

His grin turned into a sneer. "I think you owe me an apology."

"Um, no I don't think I do." I quickly signed in and turned to leave. But he was there, blocking my exit. "Get out of the way, Mike."

He chuckled. Evily. "Nope, don't think so." He stepped closer. I stepped back.

"Mike, don't you dare." I warned.

"What are you going to do about it?" He asked.

"Well, since you had a broken nose, I think two black eyes." I raised my fists and he quickly covered his hands over mind. Just what I wanted. I kneed him as hard as I could in his 'area' and he fell to his knees. I decided since I was wearing boots, I wouldn't go easy on him! I kicked him again, this time using my foot. "Don't you ever come near me again. Ya hear?"

"Yeah." He wheezed.

I walked briskly out and into the sunshine. The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

**Ah, sweet love. Hehehe. I just decided, since I LOVED the reviews, to give you an extra one. ******** Also, I thought of a oneshot I might do, but first-finish writing this story! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**Sorry I didn't update sooner. But I have been writing more!! It's getting to the end—hehehe. **

_**Chapter 16 (Bella's POV)**_

"Where were you this morning?" Edward asked. We were sitting outside, the school day finally over.

"Uh, the tractor broke down. I had to fix it." I replied, half listening.

"Why couldn't the farmhands fix it their selves?" He asked, persistent.

"Edward." I said, in a warning/pleading tone. "Would you know how to fix it?"

He grumbled, "No."

"Exactly." I said, hopefully ending the conversation.

Nope, he had to start up again. "Where's your truck?"

That made me straighten up. "CRAP! I have to get to Emily's!!!"

Edward stood up, offering me a hand which I happily took. "Well, let's go."

We got in his Volvo, the first time I actually rode in it. "Nice car."

"Thanks." He said back. "So, I saw Mike walking around bowlegged. It was after lunch I recall. You came that time. Do you know what happened?"

He glanced over at me, smirking. I replied. "I don't know. Maybe he was being his usual self."

"Hmm. And you're wearing boots. Bet that made it hurt even more." He laughed. I joined and we soon reached the house. But I didn't see Blackie. I got out of the car, wondering what happened to him.

I went to the door and knocked. I heard footsteps and the door opened to reveal Quil. What was he doing here?

"Um, hi." I said, shortly. "Is Emily here?"

Quil looked at me and said, "Yeah. Let me get her." He shut the door, hard. Emily came outside, not inviting me in. What was up with this!

"Uh, your horse should be back in a minute. They just took it to walk him around." She said nervously.

"Who?" I asked. She said 'they' which made me wonder who.

"What?"

"Who took the horse?" I asked again, getting angry.

"Ummmm, Sam. And…..Jake." She bit her lip, and then looked over my shoulder. "OH! There they are! I'll talk to ya later, sweetie!" She took off into the house. Once she was gone, I turned to see Sam leading Blackie around. But no Jake.

"Thanks, Sam. For letting him stay here." I said, taking the reins.

"No problem. She got spooked once or twice, but no worry." He said, in his calm easy tone. It was kinda annoying, he was always at peace. But some people have it, some people don't.

"Alright, well thanks." I mounted up, and waved to Edward, who was waiting in the driveway. He had to be home, his family were all going out to eat tonight. "Bye, Sam."

"Bye. Be safe!" He said quickly, before entering the house. I looked through the windows and did a double take. Not only was Quil there, but Embry and Jake and the rest of the guys that were always with Sam-Jared and Paul. All of them were sitting at the table, laughing. Jake looked over to me and went still, not smiling or joking anymore. I kicked the horse and took off. I didn't stop the horse's quick pace until I was almost at my house. My tears were dried from the ride. I stayed in the stable for an hour before going in.

"You okay? You didn't get hurt or anything, did ya?" Charlie asked, the second I got in.

I realized he was talking about being hurt by the horse. I replied in a monotone, "No. I didn't have any problems with the horse. He was fine."

"Did-did something happen with Edward and you?" He was taken back with my tone.

"No, we're fine. Perfect."

"Then what?" He asked confused.

"Jake." Recognition dawned on his face.

"Well, just leave him alone. He'll be fine. You do have Edward after all." He left me alone in the kitchen.

"It's not just Jake, but Embry and Quil too!" I said to his back.

"At the same time?" He asked.

"Yeah, they just started avoiding me two weeks ago. Saying they can't be my friends anymore." I wasn't going to cry. I wasn't going to cry. "But then I saw all of them at Emily and Sam's house after school today and they were laughing and I-I just—"

I ran to my room, doing what I wasn't going to do. Cry. They had been my friends all throughout childhood and school. Though all three were a grade below, they were still my best friends.

But apparently not anymore. Not anymore. I went out my window and to my truck, now free to move around. The semi-trucks were still here, nothing set up though. Guess they were waiting closer to the day. I drove around the fields, until I came to a stop by the lake. Where Edward and I had gone swimming. I turned off the truck and went to sit by the edge, dipping my feet in after taking off of boots and socks.

I stayed there, even after the sun set. I felt relaxed, but the feeling soon ended when I felt someone watching me. I turned and looked around, but saw nothing. I looked into the far woods, but again, didn't see anything. I got up, not bothering to put on my boots, when I heard a howl, awfully close. I ran to the truck, starting it and peeling out. I didn't have my shotgun with me, for I always kept it in the stables.

By the time I was at the house, I was dead tired. I could barely walk. But, I drug my feet into my house, and to my room. I plopped on the bed, but sleep was not coming easy tonight. I had too many things on my mind. After an hour of sleep deprivation, I got my phone out and looked to see eleven missed calls. Five from Edward and five from Charlie. The last one surprised me-Rosalie.

It was only about eleven o'clock, so I called her, seeing what she wanted.

"Hello?" I heard her voice, over loud music.

"Hi, Rosalie? You called?" I didn't say it too nicely.

"Um, yeah. Hold on." The music quieted and I could barely hear it as she spoke again. "Uh, Bella? Still there?"

"Yeah."

"I-I wanted to ask you something." She sounded uncertain. Hmmm. Interesting.

"Go on." I pushed her.

"Well, I was wondering if-if…"

"What Rosalie?" I nearly growled.

"If you could help me get Emmett back." She said quickly.

I didn't think I heard her right, "What?!"

She sighed, "Can you help me get Emmett back? I-I don't know who else to ask."

"Uh, why not ask him?" I said, astonished.

"Who?" She asked, clearly confused.

"Emmett?" I giggled. "I'm sure if you ask him….he misses you Rosalie. Deeply."

"I know, but-" She paused. "But what if he doesn't want me back? After all the things I did and said to him, what if-" 

"Rosalie?"

"Yes?"

"Have you even seen him?" After all, he wasn't really his cheerful, funny loving self.

"Yes. But, every time I do, he's looking like he wants to kill me." She said ashamed.

"Yeah. Probably." Before she could retort, I went on. "But, why not just talk to him?"

"I don't know." She exhaled, "What would I say?"

"The truth. You miss him. You need him. You love him." I said it simple.

"But, would you help me?" She asked, "Can you be there? Just in case?"

"Uh, I don't know, I—"

"PLEASE?!?!?!" She wailed. "PLEASE!!!! YOU HAVE TOO! I CAN'T STAND IT WITHOUT HIM!!!! YOU HAVE TOO!!! PLEASE!!!!!!"

"Okay!!! Okay!! Just calm down." Jeez! She was crying like a banshee! "We just might not want Edward there. He won't be too helpful."

She sniffed loudly, "Yeah, he'll make it worse. He hates me."

I laughed. "No he doesn't."

"Yes. He does. You've never heard one of our fights."

"Edward loves debate. Just not bruises he gets from you." Hmm, shouldn't have said that.

"HEY! He totally deserves them!!" She yelled into the phone.

"Okay!!! Calm!!!" I said again, hopefully bringing a soothing peace to the conversation.

"So, are you going to help me?"

"Yeah. Tell me when." I gave in, grudgingly.

"THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!!" She said, happy now. "Okay, come over right now. Everybody else is in the city. Emmett and I stayed."

"Okay. See ya in ten." I hung up, now revived and awake from my conversation. My ear was hurting from her screaming and wailing. I rubbed it while writing a note to Charlie, saying where I was.

Rosalie quickly pulled me in, not even allowing me time to knock.

"He's in the living room." She whispered as we turned the corner. Sure enough, there he was, playing video games. She said loudly, "Look who's here! Bella!"

She was too happy to see me and Emmett turned around, looking weirdly at us both, "When have you started liking Bella?"

"Thanks, Emmett. Make me feel loved." I pulled from Rosalie's grasp and dropped dead on the couch.

"Sorry. But um- what are you doing here?" He smiled, "Here to see me? Because, I know Edward told you he was going to be gone."

"Yep, actually I am." I sat up straight, wanting to get to the point. I looked over at Rosalie and her eyes widened.

"I-uh-I got to go." She left the room, leaving us in silence.

"Okay." He watched Rosalie run out of the room. "What's going on?"

"Like you said, I'm here to see you." I said, losing my focus. I was getting sleepy again.

"Why?"

"Rose asked me."

"WHY!?!" Emmett recovered from his outburst. "I mean, why?"

"She wants you back." I watched his face, surprise covering his features.

"What?" He asked flabbergasted.

"She didn't know how to get you back, if you wanted her back, so she called me." I shook my head, still wondering-Why ME?

"Weird." He agreed, at me shaking me head.

"Very." I let my head fall on the back of the couch. "You can go talk to her."

He ran out of the room, leaving me in the quiet, non-noisy room. Letting sleep take over.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 17 (Bella's POV)**_

I woke up with a warm body beside me. I looked and saw Edward, but his head was on mine, with his hand wrapped around me, holding me to his side. We were both upright on the couch, the light from the sun, peeking in through the windows. Wow, I must have slept pretty darn good.

"Hmmm. Bella." I didn't move, but he went on, "I love you."

"I love you too." I responded.

"Want to go out with me?" He asked, sleepily.

"What?" I was thinking, maybe a 'Good Morning' or something, but realized when I pulled back to look at him, he was still asleep. But my movement woke him up.

"Hmm? Bella? What are you doing here?" He asked looking around, not even half awake.

"Uh.." I tried to remember, "OH! Rosalie wanted me over."

"Why?" He was surprised and it woke him up a bit more.

"She just—" I was cut off by somebody knocking the breath out of me.

"Thank you so much, Bella! He's giving me another chance!!" I turned to Rosalie, awake and…awake.

"Uh, no prob." I didn't do anything, at least not much.

She hugged me again. "THANK YOU!!!!"

"SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!!!" Somebody yelled upstairs.

"NOT ANYMORE!!!!!!" Rosalie sang back. I laughed at her very, very happy expression. Emmett walked into the room, taking his girlfriend into his arms. They waved and walked out.

"What did you do?" Edward said, now fully into the world of living.

"Nothing." I said sweetly, kissing his chin.

"Hmm-mm." He said disbelieving. "Come on. Let's go et breakfast."

"Oh, I should get back. I left a note, but Charlie may be a little, well, mad." I frowned, maybe he thinks I'm working outside. I doubt it.

"I'll call him-No, I'll have Esme call him." He rethought his plan.

"Okay, breakfast it is." We got up, stretching. "You know, you didn't have to sleep on the couch with me."

"I know, but I wanted to. Either that or carry you up to my room." He smiled crookedly at me. I blushed at his comment.

He wrapped me in his arms, kissing me gently. A sweet good morning kiss. Which I thoroughly enjoyed.

"OH! Break it up!" We pulled away and saw a disgruntled looking Jasper. Somebody wasn't happy this morning.

Edward leaned to down to whisper in my ear, "Alice made him dance every song last night. This leads to a very cranky Jasper this morning."

"Why don't you two make out somewhere else?" Jasper said before walking into the kitchen. Where we soon followed, seeing everybody there.

"Good morning, Bella! Edward!" Esme hollered at us.

"Mornin'." I said, seating in the chair Edward pulled out for me.

Edward went over to Esme, talking quietly with her (probably about Charlie) and Esme soon left the kitchen and Edward took over the cooking. Everybody was in their own world, Emmett and Rosalie-happy to be back together, Jasper-sleeping, Alice-bouncing around, and Carlisle-reading the paper. I got up and went to help Edward.

"What'cha doin'?" I asked, sneaking over.

He glanced at me, "Making French toast."

"Oooo. Haven't had that forever." I grinned like a little kid. "Anything I can do?"

"Umm." He looked around, "Nope, Esme pretty much has everything done. But… you can give this to Carlisle." He handed me two plates. "And this one to Jasper, maybe he'll be happier."

I delivered them and Edward had two more plates ready. "Alice and Emmett. Rosalie doesn't eat this food. Too fattening." He scoffed.

"I heard that!" We looked over to Rosalie, Emmett with his arm on the back of her chair.

Esme came into the kitchen, a minute later. "Oh! Everything's already done?"

"Yep. Your plate's on the table." Edward said, cleaning up. He wouldn't allow me to help, so I was happily eating French toast. While Rosalie was eating half an apple. I shook my head. I would never be a model. I have to have my cheeseburgers and fries. And, of course, French toast-even if only on occasions.

"Well, thank you, Edward." Esme exclaimed, hugging him.

"Urgh, not so loud." Jasper said next to me.

"Got a hangover?" I asked jokingly.

"If there's such a thing from too much dancing." Emmett said, booming with laughter.

Jasper glared at him across the table. But it was Alice who spoke, "You weren't even there, Emmett. And I'm going to be the one laughing when your out on the dance floor for prom."

"You didn't hear?" Emmett asked.

"What?" Alice said.

"They canceled prom!" He exclaimed. "NO DRESSING UP IN TUXES!!! WHOO-OOOO!!"

"SHUT UP!!!" Jasper yelled, holding his head.

"You okay?" I asked softly, not wanting him to blow up on me.

"Yeah, no. URGH!" He pushed his plate away and put his head in his hands.

"WHAT!!! Why did they cancel PROM?" Alice was bawling now, after letting it sink in.

"ALICE!!!" Jasper yelled again.

"BUT JAZZY!!!THEY—"

Edward covered her mouth with his hand. "Inside voice, Alice. Plus, we don't want Jasper killing you."

She cried into Edward's hand, mumbling something.

Emmett came to the rescue. "They canceled prom because the students weren't able to pull it off. So, everybody's going to the Swan's bash."

"Oh," Alice looked excited and Edward pulled his hand away from her mouth, "There's dancing???? Yah!!! Jazz, we get to dance more!!"

"Actually," Edward sat down on the other side of me. "It's country dancing."

"So?" Alice asked, not caring.

"Do you know how to line, square, and two step?" He asked, taking a bite of his toast. By this time, I was done. And eagerly looking at Edward's.

Alice looked tearful again. "No!"

"EDWARD!!" The family said together. I laughed softly.

"BELLA! You have to teach me!!! And Jasper!!!" Alice wailed, begging me.

"Well, Edward knows how." I said, trying to make him do it.

"Uh-uh, no way." Edward said quickly. I pouted, but he wasn't looking, so I kicked him under the table. "OW!" He looked at me and not able to withstand me, said, "Fine."

"OH!! Thank you EDDIE!!!" Alice was hugging him within .2 seconds.

"On one condition." He said, finishing up his breakfast.

"What?"

"Bella helps." He grinned at me. I sighed as Alice started begging and pleading with me. Jasper was also doing the same, just to make Alice be quiet.

"Alright! On one condition." I said.

"What?" Alice asked again.

"You stay quiet. Jasper doesn't look too great." I pointed over at him. He rolled his eyes at me.

"Okay, I won't say a thing for the rest of breakfast, but afterwards, you have to teach us all!"

"WHAT!!!" No. No way. Not in a lifetime.

Ten minutes later, we had the living room cleared and Edward and I were showing them the two step. They learned fast, just like Edward. Just as we were finishing up, my cell phone rang-Charlie.

I went out on the porch, leaving them to their dancing.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!!" Charlie said as I pushed the talk button.

I winced, "The Cullen's."

"WHY AREN'T YOU HOME YET?????" He was livid.

"I got roped into teaching dance lessons." I said, gently.

"You better get home now! Those horses that came, they've run out in the fields! Those STUPID animals!!!!" He hung up the phone, and I released the breath I was holding.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked, making me scream. He withheld his laugh, "He doesn't sound too happy."

"Horses got out." I rubbed my face, tired. "I got to go get them back in. They were in trailers, but we have to get them in stalls."

"Need help?" He asked.

I shook my head, "Better not. I don't want you getting hurt."

He scoffed, "Me?"

"Yes, you."

"I did pretty good on Blackie, didn't I?" He asked, proudly.

"Yes, but—"

"Nope, I'm going." He swung me around and I stumbled down the stairs, him pushing me to my truck. "I'll meet ya there."

He was gone before I knew it. I heard an engine start up and saw his car as he came around the house. He waved and sped off. I hopped in my truck, following him.

**Okay, I won't be able to update tomorrow, so I'll try to update tonight after I go see my friend before she leaves. ******** She's going back to Germany. **

**Tell me your fav!!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**Well, just got back!!!! So here's the update for tomorrow!! By the way, 'what's with Jasper?' well, he was really tired, like all men when they get up early. (aka-my brothers-especially when you wake them up with ice-hehehe) And he spent all night dancing with Alice and staying up with her and he was just really really tired.  
**

_**Chapter 18 (Bella's POV)**_

"FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I yelled as I walked out of the classroom. Several other people were also cheering. Just not screaming for joy like me. Well, now there was. Finals were finally over! No more testing!!!! I could jump for joy. And I did…right into Edward's arms. Well, I wish. He was waiting for me by his car, waiting to take me home.

"HI BELLA!!!" A loud melody voice screamed beside me. I flinched as my ear hurt from the pain.

"ALICE!!! THAT HURT!!! DO YOU HAVE TO YELL SO LOUD!!!!?" I screamed back at her.

"YES!!!!!!! THAT'S THE POINT OF YELLING LOUD!!!!" She was making funny faces, distorting her expression. I couldn't take it, I busted out laughing. Nobody could be mad at Alice longer than ten seconds; she would just make you laugh.

"Okay girls, break it up." Edward came over, casually resting an arm on my shoulder.

I put on a pout. "Edward, Alice yelled at me and made my ears hurt."

Edward frowned, "Alice, you shouldn't do such things."

Alice's expression was priceless. If only she saw the glint of playfulness in his eyes. But too bad for her, because she didn't, and now we were picking on her. "B-but SHE started it!!!"

I laughed but quickly stopped when Edward nudged me. He replied, "Of course she didn't. My Bella would never do such a thing." He kissed me on the cheek, "Alice, you shouldn't tell stories. You're not a kid anymore."

She sniffed, close to crying. Jasper came up behind her, "Alice, they're just playing with you." He glared at Edward, not bothering with me. "You should know better."

We laughed and took off to the car, leaving them behind. We slowed when we saw Emmett grinning at us. "Ready to get to work?"

"Yep. Let's go." We climbed into the car and waited until Alice and Jasper got in. Both not acknowledging anybody.

"So," Emmett said as we made our way to my house. "What exactly are we doing?"

"Um, well, putting up the tents first. Hopefully they have that done." I said, going through my mind of things to do. "Then set up the stage and dance floor. Tomorrow's Friday and we'll get the horses and cattle ready. But it'll mostly take the rest of today to get the stage and floor put up."

"Sounds like fun." Emmett said dryly.

"I can't wait to see how it all looks in the end!" Alice said excitedly, forgetting about what happened back at the school.

"Yeah, I just hope that nobody gets hurt." I replied. We had an ambulance on call, just in case. And Carlisle, thank goodness. This was a big function that mostly everybody in the surrounded cities came for. It was as big as the State Fair. Well, kinda.

"I think we all hope for that." Edward said. He glanced at me and stopped the car. We were home already. "Well, Esme and Rosalie won't be back for awhile. Their shopping trip will take a long time."

"But it's good shopping." I said. "Not clothes shopping. I'm going to thank Esme again for doing this for us. Usually I have to do the emergency shopping trip."

We all got out and quickly got to work. Emmett was the biggest help of all. Jasper helped with anything too high to reach. Alice was everywhere, being her normal hyper self. Edward mostly stayed be me, helping me with errands and making sure everything was okay. Rosalie and Esme came as we finished putting everything up.

"Hope we're not late!" Rosalie sang, obvious she didn't want to work.

"Actually, you're just in time." Charlie said as we all went to sit on the deck. "I was just about to cook supper."

Rosalie looked disinterested. "I already ate."

"Sorry." Esme looked sheepishly at him. If I wasn't so tired, I would have laughed at her expression.

"Don't worry about it. You all talk while I fire up the grill." He said while trying to get out of his chair. He groaned and I swiftly went to him, gently pushing him back into his seat.

"Dad, I'll do it. You just relax." I didn't give him anytime to reply as I walked away. Before going into the house, I said over my shoulder, "Don't you dare let him get up!"

I texted Edward to start the grill while I went downstairs to get some meat. I put it in the microwave to thaw it out and after about fifteen minutes, I made them into burgers. While I was doing that, Edward came in.

"What'cha doin' darling'?" He asked as he stood behind me, placing a hand on each side of me.

"Making burgers." I held up the red, gushing meat in my hands. "Yummy, huh?"

"Hmm-mmm." He said nuzzling my neck. I giggled, then sighed. Oh, if we could stay like this forever. "What do you need?"

His voice brought me back to the present and I realized he was no longer nuzzling me, just resting his head on my shoulder.

"Uh, grill these." I handed him the plate of burgers. "When you're done with that plate, come and get the other one."

"Jeez, that's a lot of burgers." He said as he walked outside. I started frying the curly fries and getting out the chips and potato salad. Anything that they would eat.

"I'm so glad I don't have to do this Saturday." I said to no one. We had some friends who could barbecue and asked them if they would mind terribly to do so at the FOF. They happily agreed, as long as we provided the meat. Which we were doing.

The phone rang as Edward came in to get the next plate. Man, I didn't think hamburgers could cook that fast.

"Hello, Swan's residence." I said while emptying the frying pan. I put in some more and started the process all over again.

"Hey, Bella." Emily's voice came over the phone. I immediately stopped what I was doing. I haven't talked to her since the night I saw Jake and them at her house.

------

"_What were they doing at your house?" I asked Emily over the phone._

"_I don't think that's any of your business, Bella." She said calmly and as nice as she could._

"_WHAT!" I said in disbelief._

"_I'm sorry, Bella. But maybe you shouldn't come over here anymore." She said it hard and forcefully._

_I held my tears and hung up, not wanting to talk to the only girl friend I ever had._

--------

"What do you want?" I said, not to nicely.

I could hear her sigh, "Bella, I'm sorry for what I said, but it's for your own good. I—"

I slammed the phone against the side of the counter a few times. I might have been PMS-ing, but still, I was MAD.

"FOR MY OWN GOOD!!!!THEN WHY ARE CALLING NOW!!!!!!" I hung up as Edward ran into the house. I gave him a smile.

"Bella? Were you just yelling? And did something break?" He asked, confused.

"Nope, just fine." I replied, getting the last batch of fries out. "The burgers ready?"

"Almost." He ran outside to check. I cleaned the mess up and laid out the food. Edward came in with the hamburgers five minutes later. "Okay, now that dinner is ready, I say we lock the doors and have the food to ourselves."

I was about to reply when Emmett burst through the door. "FOOD'S READY!!!!"

Edward rolled his eyes, "He has a knack when knowing there's food to be eaten."

I giggled as Emmett smiled, "Well, it's a good thing, huh? We all know you would eat all of it before anybody got the chance."

I shook my head, smiling at their banter. Everyone else filed in and got in line. Edward was first of course. I stayed where I was, letting them go through before I did. They left outside and I put the food up after getting my own plate. If they needed anything, I could always get it out again.

I walked outside to see everyone sitting on the stage laughing. I sat on the dance floor, enjoying the laughter as they all ate. I was off in my own world when somebody yelled my name.

"AT LAST!!! We get your attention!" Emmett boomed out.

"Oh, sorry. What?" I asked, eating my hamburger.

Emmett looked down from the stage to my plate, "You're not worried about what you're eating?"

"No, why?" I was confused. Does he think I'm fat or something?

"Well, you're eating a bunch! You eat more than Alice and Rosalie combined times two!" Wow. He made a girl feel special.

"Thanks. Thanks for calling me fat, Emmett." I spoke in a low tone. I hope brothers aren't alike.

"EMMETT!!!!" Edward roared at his brother, then turned back to me. "Bella, you're not fat."

"That's not what your brother thinks!" I pointed at him.

"Well, I don't think your fat." Jasper said.

"Bella! I didn't mean it like that." Emmett anxious for my reply.

"Yeah, don't listen to what he says." Rosalie said, looking either distastefully or very hungrily at my plate of food. "Nobody else does."

"Hey!!!!" Emmett looked at his girlfriend.

My phone rang, cutting off the rest of Em's sentence. I looked to see who it was, but it wasn't someone I knew.

"Hello."

"Hey, Bella." A deep voice said. Okay, let's see, who did I know who had such a deep –Sam.

"Sam?" I asked.

"Wha-No, Jake."

"What do you want?" I bit out.

"Bella, I'm sorry for what I did—"

"What do you want?" I said louder. The Cullen's and Charlie were quiet, silently listening to me as I talked on the phone.

"Look. I know you're mad at me, but it's for your own good and I—"

"Oh!!!!" I stood up, fuming. "FOR MY OWN GOOD!!!" I paced to the house, not wanting to let my boyfriend's family think I'm crazy. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW??? YOU LEFT ME TWO MONTHS AGO!!! YOU CAN TAKE YOUR APOLOGY AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR—"

Edward came from behind me and took the phone from my hands, "Never call or talk to her again. It's for YOUR own good."

I was breathing heavily, worn out physically and mentally. I fell into Edward arms and was out before I even knew it.

**Tsk, what's going to happen? With Jake? I love writing this story, it's just funny. **

**What's yr fav? **


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**Yesterday sucked. I have to have five surgeries on my jaw. That is, if I go through with it. Which I don't want to. Hehehe. **

**I'm going to hurry up and update because I have to go say bye to my friend. (sniff, I'll miss her) Then I have to go to work and then I'm going with my future sister-in-law car shopping!**

_**Chapter 19 (Bella's POV)**_

"Okay, get the band set up on the stage." I ordered to Rosalie, knowing she wouldn't mind. "Alice? Can you get the cowboys to set up the horses?"

"No problem!" She raced off quicker than lightening.

"Bella?" Edward asked, "What else do you need?"

I turned in surprise, "You already have all the food ready?"

He smiled naughtily, "Esme kicked me out of the kitchen."

I laughed, "What'd you do?"

"Just got in a fight with Emmett. Had to clean up the kitchen before I left, though." He said, frowning. Then happily said, "But it was worth it."

"Edward! You made Esme's job even harder!!" Gosh! It was Field's of Fun and he wasn't helping. Okay, now he was, by holding me.

"Oh, Bella, it'll be fine." Edward danced slowly with me while embracing me.

"I know." I said, "But we need to get back to work."

I pulled away and he pouted. I give him a kiss on the lips to make up for it. He took it a little farther, making the quick kiss, slow and deeper.

"Edward," I pulled away once again, but not really wanting to. At all. "You know I wish I could stay like this forever, but—"

"I know, but you better promise me a dance tonight." He said, not letting me out of his arms.

"Sorry, but-"

"Promise." He silenced me.

"N-"

"I'm not taking no for an answer!" He smiled mischievously. "I'll make you dance with Emmett and Jasper and Carlisle. Better promise me!!"

"Fine." Knowing he would actually do it. Who knows! Maybe it would fun.

"HAH! I knew it! You want to dance with me." He smiled triumphly.

I swatted him, "You are crazy, you know that?"

"Love does unusual things." He smiled softly.

"Yes it does." I sighed happily.

"Alright, alright. Get back to work." Edward finally gave in. He stepped away, giving me room.

"Okay, here's your job-make sure everything and everyone is doing their job." I turned and walked away.

"Nuh-uh, that's your job." Edward caught up with me.

I pouted, "Please?"

He was dazzled for a second, but grinned. "Only if you come with me."

"Okay." I happily agreed. We made our rounds and finished, just as the first vehicle pulled up. "Ready?"

"Yup. I guess I'll see ya tonight for our dance." He kissed me and left to his post. Mine would be the horses, not trusting anybody else with them. Sure there would be people helping, but I wanted to make sure everything went fine. After about ten, the people really started showing up. Our long driveway was put to use, I couldn't even see the ending!

"Bella!!!" A little girl came up to me. I picked her up and swung her around.

"And what are you doing?" I asked as I put her on the horse, getting on behind her.

"Riding with you!!" She giggled. I laughed as we started off. Quil's little sister, Ayasha, meaning 'little one'. She was a cutie, full of spirit.

"What else?" I asked as we came back around.

"Well, Quil never comes home anymore. He's always with the huge men." I laughed at her description of Sam and Jake. I had seen Jake, and he was bigger, a lot bigger.

"You miss your brother?" I asked her as we were going to stop.

She nodded, "He never even talks to me."

I frowned, how could he do that? Quil was very protective of his little sister. "Well, maybe that's just because he's a guy. And he's weird."

She giggled. "Yeah."

I got off the horse and set her on the ground. She hugged me, only coming up to my waist. She was only seven. "THANK YOU BELLA!!!"

Before I knew it, she ran off into the crowd. I saw her Dad pick her up and they set off, going somewhere else.

"Hey guys, I'm going to see how the rodeo is going." I told the workers at the pony/horse rides. They nodded and I mounted my horse and set off, going around the people so not to step on them. I stopped at the rodeo stands, looking at the girl doing the barrel racing. She was pretty good, she only knocked two of the barrels down. She looked to be around eleven or twelve years old. After she ended, the crowd cheered. She got off and bowed and quickly exited, taking the horse back to her stall.

The next one was a boy of the same age. He was riding Lizzy. I quickly set off to the entrance, Lizzy wasn't going to be nice. She was almost having a colt! I specifically told them to keep her in her stall!!!! They opened the gate and put the horse in a trot. I heard a 'ah!' (gasp) go through the crowd and I pushed the horse to a gallop to where Lizzy was going wild, making a bucking rodeo instead of barrel racing.

I got off my horse, and went to get the kicking horse. She knew me as I called to her and calmed down. I grabbed the reins and reached up and took the boy off.

"But I wanted to ride!" He said, mad that he didn't get his chance.

I turned, making sure Lizzy was going to be good, "You almost got killed."

He put his nose in the air, "So?"

I restrained myself from telling him-GRRR "Ride my horse."

He got on her and I adjusted the straps to fit his height. I escorted Lizzy to her stall and gave the workers a fine ear yelling. I put a sign, just in case, on Lizzy's stall door.

"Um, Bella?" Gus came up to me. I smiled at him.

"Yes?"

"Uh, this little girl wants to race." I looked to his side and saw a small, timid looking girl.

"Ok, I'll get Abigail."

Her voice stopped me, "But I don't know how!!"

I turned and knelt, to be eye-level with her. "Do you want me to ride with you?"

"Mmm-hmm." She nodded fast, excited.

"Alright, let's go." I took her hand and we set off to the stand. "What's your name?"

"Emmy."

"Well, Emmy, have you ever ridden a horse before?"

"Yes. My daddy let's me." She said, smiling. I waved at Edward, who was coming over.

"Edward, this is Emmy. Emmy, this is Edward." I introduced them.

"Hi." They both said. We were at the entrance and Levi (other worker) had the horse I wanted.

"Hi, Levi!" I said as I grabbed the reins. "This little girl's going barrel racing."

He smiled, "I knew Gus's little girl would."

I put her on the horse, "Gus?"

"Yeah. From his ex-girlfriend." He said, frowning. "She gave him the kid and left."

"Oh." I swung in the saddle and wrapped an arm around her little waist. I smiled to Edward and Levi on the ground. "Wish us luck!"

Carlisle was the announcer for introducing the barrel riders. I put him here because if anybody got hurt, he could help them, since he was a doctor. His voice came over the intercom, "And last one for the young rider's class is Emmy Moss with Bella Swan."

At the sound of the buzzer, I quickly hunched over, pulling Emmy tight to me. We went around the first barrel with no trouble. The last couple barrels, Abigail was getting' tired, but she pulled through, making our time come in first. Emmy cheered when she finally caught her breath. We got off and I told her to bow. As she did, I caught Edward's eye at the entrance. He gave me his crooked dazzling smile and clapped for us.

We left the arena and put Abigail in her stall and watched her as she guzzled down her water. Emmy told Gus what happened, but I knew he watched. Emmy was bursting with joy as she told her story. I left them and went to make sure everything in the kitchen was okay. Hopefully, it was.

"Oh, Emmett!! Be careful!" Was the first thing I heard when I stepped into the house. I saw Esme as she pulled something out of the oven. It smelled wonderful. Emmett was by the food, cleaning up something on the floor.

"How's everything goin'?" I asked.

Emmett smiled up at me. Esme answered, "Oh, just fine."

I laughed, "Esme, we do have enough food for now."

She looked surprised, "Oh?"

"Yes, usually everybody eats around twelve thirty or one. They forget what time it is." I helped Emmett clean up the spilled coleslaw. "Everything for lunch is cooked. So you have some free time if you want."

She bit her lip, uncertain, "Are you sure?"

"Yep." I said. She cleaned up a little, but then left, leaving Emmett and I alone. "So, how's kitchen life?"

He frowned, "Horrible."

"Well, I got you another job, you start in an hour." I said, trying some of the cheese salad Esme had made, "yummmm, this is good." I took out a plate and fork and quickly fixed me a serving. I sat at the table, forgetting Emmett was there.

"That's one thing that amazes me. Your appetite." Emmett said as he sat beside me, "Now, what job do I have now?"

"Guess." I smiled.

"BBQ'in?" He frowned. Obviously he didn't like to cook, just eat. (AU: Like all the men in my family.)

"Nope."

"Get to ride with the kids?" He asked excitedly.

"They wouldn't fit with you on. But it does-well, guess not. Unless you go now." I don't think it would be kids trying out for that.

"WHAT IS IT?" He was getting impatient.

"A…." I leaned in, he gave in to the suspense and came closer. "A RODEO CLOWN!!"

**Perfect job for Emmett, huh? Well, I better get going, so I'll update Monday if I'm not busy-I might be next week, but I promise-I will try to finish writing the story! I haven't been able to write anything, so I'll have to do that too. Sorry, babbling, BYE!!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 20 (Bella's POV)**_

Emmett was having a grand time. He didn't even really have to run, he could stop the bull if he wanted to. The bull-riding started late, since the barrel racing lasted longer than planned. It was two-thirty now and only five riders had rode, none lasting longer than four seconds.

"WHOO!! GO EMMETT!!!" I screamed as he ran out in the arena, getting the bull away from the man. The funny part of this was, that all these bulls were ours (Swan's) and they were pretty tame.

I was getting bored and was about to leave to check on things when Carlisle announced the next person, "We have Emmett Cullen, our own rodeo clown, riding the next bull." 

I stayed to see how he was. It was a sight to see, that was for sure. For Emmett was as big as the bull! I laughed as he came out of the chute. The bull kicked and kicked, but Emmett stayed on, in fact he was passed the ten seconds buzzer, when the bull slammed on his side, trying to roll over on Emmett. I quickly jumped out my seat and onto the arena, I ran to Emmett and Bully (name of bull-----Bully-BULLY!!) and grabbed the straps on the bull, pulling him off Emmett. The only reason I could, was because he knew me and I spoiled him to death. **(AU: Psah, all my calves and cows are spoiled to no ends.)**

"Emmett? Are you okay?" I handed the bull to Levi, but he wouldn't move. I knelt beside Emmett, "Emmett?"

He groaned and twitched, which scared me to death, "EMMETT!!"

"AHHHHHH!!!" He shot up at me. I screamed in surprise. He roared with laughter. After I caught my breath, I jumped on him, knocking him back on the ground.

"EMMETT!! YOU FRIGGIN SCARED ME!!!" He laughed and somebody took me off of him. I looked to see Edward with worry in his eyes.

Emmett stood and brushed himself off, all while the crowd cheered him. Once he took his bow, we left the arena. "Well, if I knew that bull was tame, it would've been easier! Why didn't anybody tell me!"

"Emmett…" Edward said warningly.

"Bully only listens to me. He's spoiled and stubborn." I said, making sure Emmett was walking okay.

"Why?"

"He's my calf. I raised him from birth, when his mother died." I said, remembering only just a few years ago, he was being a little calf that never listened.

"Well, guess the rodeo's done for me." Emmett sad sadly. I sighed in relief, thank god.

"I'm glad Carlisle's here." I said as we walked out.

"It'll be fine." Edward said as he glared at his brother. Then he turned his attention to me. "I think Alice was wanting to talk to you."

"Okay, where is she?" She was helping the little kids, she and Rosalie were great at it.

"Um, I think they took the kids to the rides." He said.

I gave him a kiss goodbye and set off.

_**EDWARD'S POV**_

I watched her go, the worry still in her. I turned my attention back to my stupid idiot brother. "How could you do that?"

"Do what?" Emmett asked confused.

"Fake hurt! That's the one and only thing she was worried about today! Her mom was kicked off the horse for goodness sake's man!" I saw the look in her eyes when she knelt by Emmett in the arena. I knew that if Emmett got hurt, she would have called the whole day off, ending the party.

"I thought it was funny!" He added in his defense.

"What was so funny about it?!!!" I noticed people staring at us, and pushed Emmett towards the stables. "Bella was worried about you. She's already had a family ripped apart and now their putting the pieces back together. She's had to-"

"Edward, Edward. I know." He dropped his façade and a look of sadness came across him. "I watched Edward. Every day she came to school. She never talked to anybody but those three guys. In fact, the only time I did talk to her was when she ran into me in gym. I got the excuse to tease her and did it every time I could." He sighed. "She was so depressed half the time. It was horrible."

"You never told me." I said at his tone.

"She's so happy with you. I didn't even know she could be."

I frowned, "She was fine when I came here the first day."

He chuckled, "Probably because of you."

"No, I don't think so." She and Charlie were joking around like they seemed they always do.

"Edward. When I saw her that day she came back, she had life in her eyes again. You brought that back." He pointed at me.

"But—"

He interrupted me, "Edward! Just trust me! You made her alive again!"

"Emmett," I said, half believing, half disbelieving. "But how could I do that?"

He laughed, "I have no clue. You must be meant for each other."

I smiled, looking out in the crowd, spotting Bella and my sisters coming towards us with about ten kids all around them. "Yeah, we must be."

_**BELLA'S POV**_

I don't know why he lied to me, but none-the-less, the kids were excited when I mentioned they could see the horses in their stalls. I also told them they could pet and comb them. They were ecstatic to say the least.

"Bella!" I bumped into someone while on my way to the stables. I saw Edward and Emmett there, but had to turn around to see who I ran into. "I was wondering when I'd see you!"

"Hi." I said tonelessly. I knew it. They would be here. I couldn't go to their house, but they could come here. Though it was a big thing, I still managed to avoid them throughout the day. I guess they finally caught up with me.

"Bella?" Sam asked me, wary.

"What?" I bit out at him.

"Are you okay? Is everything alright?" He asked, as if he cared.

My eyes narrowed, "Peachy."

They looked taken back at my tone. "Oh."

"Well, better go. I got things to do." I said, backing up. I had spotted the rest of the guys coming over and decided to get out of there.

"Wait!" They both said, but I was already gone. I ran behind Edward and hugged him for dear life.

"What's the matter?" He asked worriedly. I shook my head in his back, not wanting anybody, especially him, to see my face. My tears. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Mmm-hmm." I sniffed. "I just need to relax."

"I TOLD YOU SO!!" I didn't need to see who it was. Obviously, it was Emmett. "HA! Do you believe me NOW!!!"

"Emmett…" Edward said in a scary, warning, you-better-back-off voice.

"Alright, fine. Be that way. BYE BELLA!!" I heard him talking to the kids a few seconds later. By that time, I was in my own world. With Edward.

**Sorry I updated so late in the day, but I just got back from town. I promise you that I will update TWO chapters tomorrow, mostly bc it'll be Fourth of July and I won't have time to update. Plus I'll be spending the night and my oldest brother's wedding is this weekend, so I probably won't be able to update after tomorrow until next week. BUT I WILL TRY!!!! Maybe get in a chapter Friday. Idk. **


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 21 (Bella's POV)**_

I was soon back to checking on things. The first thing I needed to do was see if Charlie was alright. Edward went with Emmett to help their sisters with the kids (though they didn't need any help). So after the kids taking to the men, Rose and Alice decided to join me until they found something else to do.

"I love little kids." Alice said excitedly.

"You are a little kid." Rosalie chuckled. Alice pouted, but soon was lively again.

"I like the little blonde girl, she was cute."

"Me too. I can't wait to get married!" Rosalie was smiling so big, I was surprised she didn't do the hoola.

"Did Emmett propose?" I asked her.

"Yes. I was so surprised how quickly he accepted me back. He said, if I really loved him, I would marry him right then and there. But of course, I didn't, though I did accept him." Her smile looked like Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind. So happy and carefree. "Last night. He took me to this expensive restaurant and had me order whatever I wanted. Then, while I was looking out the window to see the city below, he got on one knee! Oh, it was so romantic!" (My brother did this in the rotating restaurant(don't know what it's called) and his now fiancé first thought that he dropped something. Hehehe, poor Gus-Gus).

"Jasper said he wanted to talk to me about it." Alice said, happy for her sister.

"Talk about it? Jeez, that guy needs to grow a backbone. And get his head out of the library." Rosalie said disparagingly.

"Okay, cool it down, girls. Your supposed to be having fun." I said, coming back to the conversation.

"I didn't think there was going to be so many people." Alice agreed to her sister's comment by nodding her head.

"Well, this was probably more than we had every time we had it-" Somebody grabbed my arm.

"Bella. I need to talk to you." I looked up to see my captor's face.

"Why? I think Quil and Emily and everybody else said it all. So leave me alone." I tried to jerk my arm away, but his hold was like steel.

"Bella, come on." Jake said commandingly and I was soon dragged from the girls and across the field to the house. He pushed me through it until we reached my room. I struggled the whole trip, but it was like I wasn't even there.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM???!!!" I screamed at him. Esme was in the kitchen, so hopefully she would help me out. Hopefully.

"Bella, I know your mad at us, but-"

"If you _dare_ say its for my own good, you will no longer be able to have kids." I said, in a pissed-off, warning, you-better-hope-to-god-that-I-don't-kill-you, tone.

He bit back his smile, but I could still see it. And this just made me even more mad. "Bella, please. Listen."

"You better talk fast, because otherwise," I shook my head that was swarming with thoughts galore.

"Fine. I'm sorry but I can't control my temper enough to be around you. I-"

I interrupted him, "You never had a problem with your temper, Jake. So don't give me that."

He frowned, displeased. "Remember in the cafeteria? That's my temper. I don't know what'd I do if I hurt you. So it's just better this way."

"You already hurt me, Jake." I said sadly. I sighed as I watched his eyes drop. "So, what's Quil and Embry's excuse?"

"Same thing."

I laughed forcefully. "Nah-uh. Quil is funny and says he gets mad, but I don't think he has a temper problem. Embry is quiet, so your out on that one too."

He inhaled. Then exhaled. "Your not going to let this go, are you?"

"No." I said. He stared at me, just watching. "What else did you want to talk about?"

He didn't speak, but came closer.

"Jake…" I stepped back, not sure what he was doing.

"Bella." He was in front of me before I knew it, wrapping his arms around me. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. If those damn vam—"

He cut his sentence off and sighed again.

"Bella?" A voice asked by the doorway.

I tried to look, but couldn't get out of Jake's grip. So I looked to see Jake's expression, he was livid. As soon as he saw who it was, he started shaking. "Jake? You okay?"

He looked down at me, confused.

"You're shaking." I said to his unasked question.

He immediately let go off me and strode out of my room without a word.

"Bella." I looked at Edward who reappeared in the doorway. He must have moved to let Jake through. "What was that all about?"

He sounded angry and confused. Not a good thing. "I have no clue."

He wasn't taking that response. "Rose and Alice said that he dragged you to the house."

"Yes. He wanted to talk." I sat on my bed, drained.

"About?" Edward came to sit, but not by me. He sat on the far end. Away from me.

I looked outside, wishing I could just have fun like they did. But I knew it was hopeless. "His temper. How he shouldn't be around me, he might hurt me."

"What?" He looked strange. "He gave you that excuse?"

I laughed a small laugh, "Yeah. Then he hugged me."

"Mmpf." He snorted and looked away.

"What?" I asked, annoyed. Does he not believe me? 

"Nothing." He said nonchantly.

"Edward, what?" I asked again.

"You looked pretty comfortable. You didn't even look up to see me." He sounded so harsh.

"Edward. He hugged me, saying he didn't mean for this to happen. I couldn't look up, Edward, his grasp was too tight for me too." I looked at him, still seeing him annoyed. "You don't believe me, do you?"

His eyes met mine, and then looked down.

I nodded, "Figures."

I left the room, not listening to his protests. I ran. Not watching where I was going and somehow, knocking Emmett over. Once again.

(Gonna leave it here, but decided to go on!)

"Bella," He sighed. "I know you love me and all, but…I'm getting married. We have to end this little affair."

If I could be, I would be laughing. But instead, I got up and kept running. I knew no one would come after me, so it wouldn't matter to run or not. But I did anyways. I ended up in the spot that mom fell from her horse. It was quite a ways from the crowd, so I could easily spot someone coming. Nobody was.

I sat down against the fence, just waiting for dark. After about an hour or two, I realized I had never checked on Charlie. Who knows what trouble he would be getting into? But I stayed there for awhile longer, watching the sun go down. When it was twilight, I decided to go back up and join the people. The band had started and people were dancing to the loud music. As I went to the side of the dance floor, seeing the Cullen's in the line dancing. All of them having a good time. I smiled a little, well, as long as their happy. When the song ended, Jasper went up to the stage and they handed him a microphone.

"Hello, everybody. I'm sorry for interrupting, but I would like to ask my girlfriend something." He got down on one knee and Emmett pushed Alice forward, so she would be standing in front of him. "Alice, would you marry me?"

An 'awe' went through the crowd and Alice shyly said, "Yes, of course." Jasper stood up and picked little Alice up and swung her around. I saw Charlie and Billy sitting together, with Sam and Emily beside them, along with the rest of them. All except Jake. I looked over to Edward and saw him smiling at his sister and brother. Happiness. It's what everybody had. Everybody but me.

**Do you remember what Jake was going to say? Hmmm? Look back! Dun-dun-dduuuuNNNNN!!!**

**Like one of my reviewer's said, "there's no vampires, that we know of…"**

**If you read the first chapter of Eclipse, (I DID FINALLY!!) then you know that werewolves change bc vampires are around. But…who is it?**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 22 (Bella's POV)**_

I left the people to dance and went to make sure everything was put up. I first went to the arena and found it was cleaned out all ready. I went to the horse rides and saw nothing there. For a second, I thought a heard something, but it must have been my imagination. I was halfway across the field when I heard a whinny. I looked behind me and saw Lizzy galloping at me. She must have caught scent of me.

She slowed down, steaming with her run. She didn't have any saddle on or anything else besides her harness. So I walked her to the stables, taking my time. I wasn't holding on to her for she followed willingly. I was at her stall when she started shifting nervously. I looked out into the darkness, but saw nothing. I hurriedly put her in her stall and heard the other horses whinnying. Something was out there.

The horses kept getting even more jumpy and I started walking to the open area of the stables, where we kept the horse storage. I heard something crunch behind me and I started running. I went to the back area and lifted a box, revealing something Charlie and I teased Edward when he first got here. My shotgun. I took it out and loaded it. Making sure the safety was off; I pointed it out to the open night.

I was sure I wasn't overreacting; the horses would not be so frisky if it was a person. I heard a growl and repositioned the gun. A big wolf came into view. At first, I thought it was a bear, but as I saw it come under the back light, I saw its shiny russet coat. As it came closer, I shot 'em. It didn't look like it did anything, so I shot again. I was sure that it hit the wolf, but he made no whine or anything.

"BELLA!!!" I heard Edward's voice call for me. "BELL-ah!"

He came around the corner, first seeing the wolf, and then its prey-me. But as it looked at Edward, the big bad wolf stalked towards him. I reloaded, this time putting three in instead of two.

"Edward, don't move." I said as I slowly stepped forward to the predator. The wolf growled at me, giving me a snarl. I pulled the trigger, allowing another shell to be shot at at the wolf. I knew definitely that I hit the damn wolf. "HE WON'T DIE!!!!"

At my frustration I screamed that and saw the wolf getting ready to pounce on Edward. "NO!!!!" I screamed as he leaped towards him. I ran at him, not anywhere near as fast as the wolf. But another wolf tackled him in mid air, taking him down right in front of me. Four more wolves came into view. Well, just barely. "Edward, GO!!"

There was no way I could get around the wolves. The two fighting wolves were in front of me, and the other wolves were right there, just in case I made a break for it and went around. Before Edward could reply, the other wolves stalked closer, getting into the fight. They grabbed the red-brown one by the mussel and threw him out into the night. The rest disappeared within seconds. Edward was by my side, holding me up as my knees gave out.

"Are you ok-" A howl and yelp broke off his sentence. We heard crunching and thought it was the wolves, back to finish us off. But it wasn't them, it was my father.

"Are you guys okay?" He asked worriedly. He immediately began checking me for injuries. But there were none.

"Yeah, they left." I said, breathing hard. I looked up to my dad, "We should call the dance off, Dad. Those wolves shouldn't have been this close. Or that BIG!!"

"No, Bella. It'll be fine. Just-just forget it ever happened, okay?" He was rushing his words.

"DAD!! Everybody heard the gun go off. So they know something-"

"The music's too loud for anybody to hear anything." He said, deterring away from it.

Edward asked the question before I could, "How did you hear it then?"

Charlie looked uncomfortable, "Well, I must have just been—Look. Let the people have a good time. I'm positive nothing will happen. If it does, I will end the party, but for now, let them enjoy it."

"Dad," I said astonished. "How-"

"I have to get back. My feet are killing me." With that, he left Edward and I flabbergasted as his words.

"What the he—"

"Bella! Language!" Edward chastised me.

"Oh, sure. You're not wondering about it too." I said sarcastically. Edward was cut off from his reply as we saw the wolves rush through the center of the field, still fighting. Just quietly. "Let's go!"

I rushed Edward to the ladder to the stable attic. I made sure Edward went first and then I grabbed a blanket and flashlight I kept around just in case. I went as fast as I could up the attic, but when I was at the top, I looked back and saw the wolves gone. I still went up, just to be safe. Edward helped me up and took the stuff from my hands. He dropped them on the floor and swept me off my feet. Literally.

He hugged me so tight, I couldn't breathe. "Edward…can't…breath."

He loosened up, but not a whole lot. He started showering me with kisses.

"Edward, as much as I love this…let me get the ladder and pull it up." He let me go and helped me pull the heavy wooden ladder up into the attic (AU: I used to do this to get away from my brothers-or anybody else!) After that, I spread the blanket out beside the window. I sat down on it, looking outside. Edward came and sat beside me, holding me.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward whispered in my ear.

"Why did Emmett say 'I told you so'?" I asked him.

He groaned, but I saw the surprise of what question I asked, "Do you really want to know?"

"Um, I asked you, didn't I?"

"He-he said that I made you happy."

"Well, he's right." I looked to his gaze, "Edward, I love you. You make me the happiest I've ever been."

"Because of my clown expertise?" He grinned knowingly.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"When I first met you, you said I was a good clown compared to how I worked."

"Oh, yes. How could I forget?" Silence lapsed over us and we watched the band and dance.

As a song came on, I sang with it.

"_I think about how it ain't fair that you weren't there to braid my hair like mothers do  
You weren't around to cheer me on  
Help me dress for my high school prom like mother's do  
Did you think I didn't need you here to hold my hand, to dry my tears  
Did you even miss me through the years at all?"_

"Hey," Edward said after I stopped. "It wasn't you fault."

I laughed while tears cascaded down my cheeks, "Charlie and I weren't even here. We were at my riding show. I got first place. And Charlie was so proud of me. Mom was dead by the time I got my trophy."

"I didn't see any in your room." Edward kissed my cheeks, a tickling sensation going through me.

"I threw them all away. After that, I never entered a show again. Well, I did for Emmy today." I said remembering the first time that I actually rode around the barrels. It came back to me, as if it was implanted in my mind like an easy thing to do, like walking. I loved it, but I would never go back to it. I wouldn't have the time.

"Do you miss her?" Edward asked.

"Yes. Even though she was going to leave us." Whoops, didn't mean for that to come out.

"What?" He was astonished and pulled back.

"About a month before it happened," I took a deep breath trying not to allow my voice to break, "She asked Charlie for a divorce. Well, demanded it really. He fought and fought to try to persuade her to change her mind, but she was persistent. She wouldn't give up."

"So, were you going to go with her?" He asked after I stopped talking.

"No. She didn't fight for custody for me." I stressed the 'me' part.

"Who did she fight for?"

"The horses. She was going to take Charlie's horses and leave us with the farm." I said with my eyes watering. "But after a visit to the doctor two weeks later, she dropped the whole thing. She wanted to stay with us. She wanted us to forget that she didn't want us."

"What changed her mind?"

I sighed sadly, "She was dying. Leukemia." After his gasp of intake, I went on, "She only had a few months left and she decided she didn't want to spend them fighting her divorce. She told us about her sickness a week before the accident."

"Is it hereditary?" He asked, his breath picking up.

"In some cases, the disease is in family clusters. Once we found out, Charlie took me to Carlisle, asking to test me for leukemia or any other cancer. They didn't find anything, thank goodness. But Dad and I left Renee to her own. She never really talked to us, the times she did, it seemed forceful. Like she was trying to be happy. Charlie and I tried to help her but she didn't want to go through treatment. She hated doctors and hospitals. Although she loved Carlisle."

He laughed at this, "Everybody loves Carlisle."

I smiled, "True. Very true. The only reason Renee went was because she kept getting weaker and weaker. She could barely stand. Charlie wasn't going to let her ride the horses until she went to the doctor. And then, she wasn't allowed too. But, as you can tell, she did when we were gone."

"So I take it that that was the announcement you were going to make?" Edward must have picked that up from our earlier conversations.

"Yeah, at first it was the divorce, then it was Renee having leukemia." I exhaled heavily.

"Bet that was tough. Going through that when you were only twelve." He held me tighter as if he would never let me go. And as if reading my mind, he spoke with such force, that had me stumbling for breath, "Bella, I love you. No matter what has or will happen, I will never leave you. You are my angel, Bella."

"I'm not anything close." I was surprised he thought of me of an angel. _His_ angel. "But, I am yours. Forever."

He laughed, "Do you know, that if it was anybody else saying this, I would not believe them?"

"Yeah. It's so cliché." I laughed at the situation with Edward. The only difference was that I knew I loved Edward. He was different than others. He was always there for me. He stood up to Charlie, Jake, anybody who hurt me or may hurt me. He was my knight in shining armor. _My_ angel.

And I would never let him go, either.

**Ah, Chapter 23 is the first sighting. Of what? You may ask. Well, Guess!!!??**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**Okay, people. I can't update until Monday or Tuesday. The wedding is…horribly planned. So, I get to help out with everything! Yeah! (Sarcastic-note that) So, I won't have time to do anything else. **

_**Chapter 23 (Bella's POV)**_

"So, what do you think those animals were?" Edward asked after a few moments of listening to the music playing outside.

"They were too big to be wolves. Way to big, but that's what they were. Definitely. Who knows? Someone could've feed them steroids." I said, the last line, sarcastically.

"Steroids? Bella, you need to quit watching—never mind, you don't watch tv." He fixed his sentence when I opened my mouth to retaliate.

"Hey! I watch TV!!" I retorted.

"Yeah? What do you watch?" He asked, amused. "And I don't think Jane Austen's movies count."

I stubbornly stuck out my chin in defiance. "It's tv, isn't it?"

"No," he chuckled. "It's movies."

"Still tv."

"No, it's not." He shifted beside me, I guess getting more comfortable. "What else do you watch, my dear Bella?"

"Let's see….Scooby dooby doo!!!!!" I said it like everybody's supposed to say it.

He laughed, "Yeah, right."

I pouted, "Animanic's is my favorite, tied with Scooby."

He looked like he didn't believe me. So I started singing the theme song to the Animanic's. It was such a catchy song. (If you've seen this show-you know what I'm talking about!!! I was going to include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as her favorites, but…my brothers were the ones that had control of the tv, so I just watched whatever they watched.)

"Okay, okay." He snickered, then shifted beside me again. "I believe you."

"Finally. I was beginning to think I would have to sing the Scooby Doo theme song too!" I snorted mockingly.

"I think everybody knows that one." He said knowingly.

"Yeah." I sighed, "How did we get on this subject?"

He had a blank expression before realization hit him, "Oh, you said the animals were on steroids."

"Or lab testing. Ya never know." I shook my head, wondering where those creatures came from. And why they were after us.

"Well, glad to see your shotgun worked." He scoffed, looking over to the gun laying by the ladder.

"I swear, I shot that thing at least twice. Maybe more. I know I hit my target." I said, finally remembering what happened and letting the memories hit me.

"Something was wrong with those wolves, just don't know what." Really? I hadn't noticed. Thanks for pointing it out, Captain Obvious.

"Do you think its safe to go back?" I asked, not really wanting to leave my safe haven.

"Let's wait a little while longer." He said with me agreeing with it totally. No dancing for me!!

"You know…this is where I used to come after Renee died. You can see the house from here and I just love it." Looking around the loft, I thought I saw something in the corner, but I shook it off. But when I looked outside again, it felt like somebody was staring at us. I just knew we had to get out of there. "Edward, let's go."

I stood up abruptly, breaking out of his grasp. He seemed surprised, but didn't ask any questions. We go the ladder down and him being the 'man' and all, he went first to check things out. I went after, bringing my gun. I was NOT going to let that out of my sight. Even though it didn't do any damage, I still needed it for reassurance.

As we pretty much ran to the house, I felt like there was somebody watching us from where we were just at. I looked back to the window and saw a pair of red eyes staring straight at me. It disappeared, just as I stumbled into the tall grass. Edward caught me and we kept our pace, only stopping until we reached the crowds.

I didn't want to look weird or alarm anyone by carrying a big gun around, so I went into the house, with Edward following. I was going to put the gun in our safety cabinet, but…something told me I might need it. So, I left it in my room, just in case.

He grabbed me from behind as I was walking out the door. "Bella, tell me what's wrong."

"What do you mean?" My voice was shaky, as if I was scared out of my wits.

"What made you want to leave the attic so quickly? What did you see?" He asked, turning me around to search my eyes for something.

"I-I just was overreacting." I said, looking at his shirt.

"Bella.." His tone was warning me to tell the truth.

"I just thought I saw something." Still refusing to look at him, he cupped my chin with his hand, forcing me to look up at him.

"What? What did you see?" He asked softly, but forcefully.

"Somebody watching us."

He didn't show any doubt or disbelieving, just pushed me to tell me more, "Who?"

"I don't know. Someone with red eyes." I said, staring into his beautiful green eyes. "I felt someone watching us and had to get out of there. When we were halfway across the field, I looked back and saw two red eyes staring at us."

Edward looked up, disturbed. "I felt it, but shook it off, thinking it was just me."

"Really? Your not making it up to make me feel better?" I asked, skeptically.

"No." He shook his head me, giving me a look that shut my mouth. "It was when we were talking about your tv shows. I just kept getting these weird jibes, like someone was there."

"Great. Wolves on steroids and stalker person with red eyes." I plopped on the bed, trying to shut this whole day out.

"Come on." Edward said. I opened my eyes to see him holding out a hand to me. I put mine in his and he pulled me up. I followed him through the house and out the back door.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

Edward smiled excitedly at me with a sparkle in his eye, "Dancing."

I immediately jerked back, but Edward was expecting that. "Nope, your not getting away."

"NOOOOOO!!!!" I wailed dramatically.

"Oh, come on ya big baby." He pulled me down the deck stairs to through the crowd and onto the dance floor. "Ready?"

"NO!" I said as we got in line for square dancing.

He laughed and kissed me on the cheek. "It'll be fun."

"Yeah, that's what you'll be saying when I fall on you." I muttered.

The song started and we began. Edward was wonderful of course. It was like he knew it his whole life. I bet he could be brilliant at everything.


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**I can see why Bella said no to marriage. Heck, the wedding I just went to (brother's wedding) well, it threw me off getting married. It was the most horrible wedding ever. I mean, Bridezilla can't compare. I understand why Bella said NO.**

**My grandpa thought the holy water on the sides of the doors (Catholic wedding) was ashtrays. Because they're in little bowls shaped just like ashtrays. I asked him if he actually put his cigarette in there, but he said he already put it out before it got in church. (Roll my eyes at him and laugh)**

_**Chapter 24 (Bella's POV)**_

I was lying in bed thinking of all what happened that day. It was five o'clock in the morning and I still couldn't get to sleep. After all that happened-Jake, the wolves, the creepy red eyes,--I still smiled, remembering Edward and I dancing. It was lovely when we waltzed. I-Bella Swan-actually waltzed. Well, more like stumbled along with the steps, but it was perfect with Edward there. His family soon joined and all in all, the rest of the evening went smoothly.

I didn't see the Black's or Sam or any of them. They must have left early. Charlie watched Edward and I the whole night. Or should I say morning. It was three o'clock when the last person left. It was Edward of course, but anyways, Charlie didn't bring up the subject of what we saw.

I still had my gun beside me, just in case. I had loaded it and made sure it was ready to shoot. I decided to give up on sleep and just go get something out of the fridge. I walked quietly to the kitchen, not wanting to wake up Charlie. I got some ice cream out that I stashed away. Hehehe. I sat at the table and a ringing sound went through the house. I ran to my room, grabbing my cell and quickly answered it.

"Hell-oh?" My mouth was full of ice cream.

"Hey, Bella." Edward's voice came over the phone.

I swallowed my very cold ice cream, "Hey, what's up?"

"Hm, nothin', just couldn't sleep." He sounded pretty sleepy to me.

"Me neither. I'm eatin' some ice cream!" I walked back to the table and got another spoonful.

"Ice cream?" He chuckled.

"Yep!" I said as I put it in my mouth. "Mmmmmmmmm. So good."

"Are you teasing me?" He asked.

"I'm just saying how good of ice cream I have. And you don't have any. HA!" I said smiling.

"Yes I do." I jumped and screamed as he spoke into my other ear.

"Edward!!!" I said, turning around to see him. He was laughing quietly. "What are you doing here?"

"Seeing you. And getting some ice cream." He smiled and went to get a bowl and spoon.

"We're gonna get in trouble, you know that?" I said as we both sat down. He scooped a big bowl of ice cream but then frowned. "What's the matta?"

"No chocolate syrup." He pouted.

It was too cute. He must have been really tired. "It's alright sweetie," I pinched his cheek. "I'll get you some."

He smiled a child so full of happiness. "Yah!!!!"

I laughed at him and brought some chocolate syrup to him. He stopped acting like a little kid and soon devoured his ice cream.

"So," He said as he got up to rinse his empty bowl. "What are we doing today?"

"Mmm. Putting stuff up. The most horrible part of the whole thing." I groaned.

"But you have me!" He scooped me up in his arms and ignoring my squirms and protests, he walked to the living room and sat down with me in his lap.

"Edward, if my dad walks in and sees us like this, we are so—"

He kissed me. He never lets me finish my sentence, does he? When he pulled back slowly, I didn't speak. He would just cut me off, so why bother!

"He'll be sleeping a little bit late I think." He lay down on the couch, me going with him. I rested on his chest, listening to his breathing. I was soon lulled to sleep by his rhythm. But I woke up with a start when the phone rang. I got up slowly, taking time to look at the clock-ten thirty. I looked to see Edward still sleeping. I answered the phone not bothering to see the name on the caller ID.

"Hello. Swan residence." I answered half asleep.

"Hi, Bella. I was wondering if Edward was there by any chance?" Esme's voice sounded far away.

"Yeah. He is. He was going to help put stuff up but he fell asleep." I said, falling back on the chair.

"Oh! Do you need any help?" I seriously doubted she wanted to.

"Esme, you've done enough. I thank you and your family a hundred times over. We couldn't have done any of it without you guys." And it was true. They helped with everything. And now we had the job of cleanup.

"Are you sure?" She sounded uncertain.

But I persuade her not to. "Yes, now you guys take the day off. Go somewhere fun! Make sure ya call Edward if you do, he's been so good."

"Alright, well, I better go make breakfast. Their starting to get up. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye!"

"Good-bye." I hung up the phone and threw it into the other chair. It bounced and landed on the ground. I groaned and Edward made a sound. A sound like he was waking up. Well, not really, but a little help from me would do the trick!

I got up from my chair and quietly approached him, like a cat. At the perfect moment, I pounced on him! But he caught me before I could tickle him. Darn, shoulda went with the ice or cold water.

He laughed, looking at my shocked expression, "Thought I was asleep, huh?"

I glowered, "You're a meany."

He laughed and pulled me to him, "Oh, Bella. What am I going to do with you?"

"Hmm, stay with me forever?"

"Sounds good." He said looking down at me. Or up, in our position.

"Well, Esme called. Wanted to know where you were." I laughed at his 'Uh-oh' face. "Don't worry, told her you came over to help us."

He looked relieved, "Thanks. Are they coming over?"

"Nope, told 'em to take the day off." I said, "And you should too! You've done enough for us, Edward."

"You're not getting rid of me that easy." He chortled.

I rolled my eyes, "Darn."

"You two finally up, I see." We looked to see Charlie standing on the other side of the room. I got up, but not before I saw Edward's blush. It was so cute. I was tempted to go 'awww'. I'm sure I was blushing too, though, so I didn't.

"Well, where do we start at?" I asked when I was finally standing. Edward stood next to me, straightening out his clothes.

"Nowhere. The worker's can do it. That's what their here for." He said as he walked to the kitchen.

"What? Dad?" I strolled in behind him. "Dad, it'll be faster if I help. Plus, they don't know where everything goes!"

"I do." He turned to look at me. "I'll be fine, Bells. Just go have fun with Edward."

"Dad, I will not let you do this. You should be taking it easy." I tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't listen.

"Bella. I'll be perfectly fine. If anything happens, I'll call. But right now, GO!" He said, fluttering his hand as in a 'GO AWAY' sign.

"Fine." I said, grumbling. Charlie left the house, giving Edward and I time to talk.

"So…where do you wanna go?" He asked as he leaned against the counter.

"I don't know." I said as I got some water out of the fridge.

"How about…a trip to the city?" He asked.

"Mmm. Sure." I set my cup down.

"Alright. I'm sure you want a shower and change of clothes, so meet me at my house, in…" He looked at his watch. "An hour?"

"Sounds good." I leaned up to give him a kiss. He quickly responded and turned us around so that I was the one against the counter. I felt his arms rub my back as he started kissing me more deeply.

"So, what are you kids…" We broke apart as Charlie came into the room again. "Uh…"

Edward blushed again, which I knew I was doing to. "Um, so I'll see you in an hour, Edward."

"Yeah." He glanced at Charlie, then gave me a peck on the cheek before he left.

"So, how serious is this, Bella?" Charlie asked as we heard Edward's car leave.

I shrugged and smiled at the same time, "Very."

He nodded his head slowly. "Well…I hope the school gave you kids the sex talk, because I sure don't want too."

My eyes widened and I held back my laughter. But a small snort came out. Charlie looked at me, blushed and shook his head. He left the room quickly, to say the least.

When I heard the door shut, I bursted out in laughter. Oh, my. Giving me 'the talk' at seventeen. He was funny!! My, that would be so embarrassing. I ran to my bathroom, getting ready for my shower, but still giggling along the way.

In less than forty five minutes, I was off to the Cullen house. I was expecting Esme or Edward or someone to come when I knocked on the door. But when I opened it, it wasn't what I expected. In fact, it was horrible. Absolutely horrifying. No other words could describe it.

Okay, people, next chapter changes it all…And, you'll finally find out what's going on…hehehe.


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**Okay people. Here it is. 'THE' Chapter…where EVERYTHING changes. But the question is-how's it going to end?**

_**Chapter 25 (Bella's POV)**_

Their screams were terrible. It was like they were being burned alive. I went to Edward's side and saw he was still in the same clothes when he left.

"Edward?" The response I got was a scream. I checked his forehead, but he was shaking so badly, I couldn't tell if he was cold or hot. I looked to his other family, seeing the same thing. I ran to the kitchen, grabbing a big bowl and filled it with water. I got a bunch of rags and quickly walked to the living room, not caring if I spilled the water. I was about to go back to get another bowl, but as I got up, I saw someone in the way. The first thing I noticed was his eyes. They were _red_.

I backed up unconsciously. His eyes followed my movement. He had white skin, almost translucent. It was papery and looked fragile. I looked to see what he was wearing, but his cloak covered up almost all his body. His long black hair was gathered in the hood of his cloak.

"Hello." His musical voice spoke. It was freaky, though. Spooky.

"Who are you?" My voice shook along with the rest of my body.

"Aro." He leaned his head to one side, sizing me up. "You must be Bella."

"H-How do you know?" I took another step back and instantly he was right in front of me.

"Edward." He said simply.

"Why did he tell you?" I asked, confused.

"He didn't." When he saw my 'huh?' expression, he elaborated. "He showed me. Though, unwillingly."

"I don't understand." I said slowly.

"Well." He looked undecided. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"What did you do to them?" I bent down, trying to comfort Edward when he started screaming even louder.

"I killed them." He said plainly.

"WHAT?!?!?" I yelled. Was he some psychotic killer or something?

"Don't worry. I'll take care of them." He smiled at me. He actually smiled at me. "I've been waiting for some time now. And now…I finally have them."

"Um, I—"

His head turned sharply to the doorway I came from. A man was there. He had dark hair, but his features where like the one in front, white skin, and red eyes. "Yes?"

The man in front looked at me and frowned, "Really?"

I looked bewildered, I hadn't talked. Neither had the other guy. (Remember-super hearing.)

"Hmm, thank you Demetri." The one in front stepped closer. I stepped back. "Don't worry. I just want to try something."

He had my hand in his quicker than anything. I watched his expression as he was puzzled and confused. Just like me. He let go and looked at me. "Would you like to become like your boyfriend? One of the—"

"We have to go, Aro. They're coming." Demetri broke in. Aro looked back at me and frowned. And they were gone before I could blink. I was about to tend to the Cullen's again, when the door to their house was blown in. Into pieces.

My eyes widened as the wolves from last night came in. They looked around, at me, at the Cullen's, and they too, were gone as fast as the other ones were.

I made the Cullen's as comfortable as I could, but yet, on they wailed in agony. I couldn't pick them up and I could only drag them so far. When I put the couples together, they seemed in less pain. So I went to Edward and lay beside him. I wrapped my arms around him and listened to his rapid heartbeat.

I was half asleep, -tired from only four hours of sleep- when I heard a crunching sound. I tried to calm my breathing, to listen for more sounds, but none were heard. I took my time raising my head, not wanting to see the sight. But I sighed in relief, it was only Sam and the gang.

Jacob was at my side within a second, lifting me up to give me a bone crushing hug. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"Jake…I can't…breathe!" He let me go and kissed me on the forehead.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yes, but their not." I motioned with my hand to the Cullen's. "I don't know what's wrong with them."

I looked up in time to see Jake looking at Sam. So I did too. He nodded his head in approval and Jake turned to me again. "Bella, their dying. We have to end-"

"Yes. That's what the guy said. That he killed them. He was creepy." I said, shivering.

His eyes widened, "What guy? He talked to you? Did he do anything to you?"

"No Jake. I'm fine. It was right before a bunch of wolves come busting through the door. One of them warned the guy talking to me and they were gone within a blink of an eye." I watched Jake, to see if he thought I was crazy. Someone outta. I did.

But Jake seemed like he believed me. Maybe everybody else is just crazier than me. That must be it.

"Jake, what are we going to do with them? I don't know what's happening." I said worriedly as I went around, taking the rags and dipping them in water again.

"Bella. You shouldn't get too close." Jake said after noticing me. He was talking with Sam about something. "Come on. The guys will do it. Don't worry 'bout it."

"Jake." I stood up. "What's going on?"

He obviously knew something. I just couldn't figure out what! Jake exhaled loudly and looked at Sam. Who stepped forward and began to speak, "Bella. You've noticed how big we've gotten and how we've changed, right?" I nodded, so he continued, "Well, that's because of our genes. We don't want anyone to know, but…you know too much."

I stepped back, "You're not going to kill me, are you?" They looked shocked. Okay, maybe their not. "Because the other guy, Aro-I think his name was-said if he told me, he'd have to kill me."

"No Bella!!! We're not going to kill you!!" Jacob exclaimed, appalled by what I said. "Geezz, what do you think we are?"

"I DON'T KNOW!!!!" I said loud and slow. "Why don't you tell me!!!!????"

He was shaking again, along with a few others. But Sam said something to them and they left. Jake took one look at me, and he left too. So, only Sam was still with me.

"Alright, Bella. I'm going to put it in simple terms. Mostly because we don't have much time." He stayed where he was at, and I simply went back to Edward. They weren't screaming anymore. They seemed to have passed out from the pain. Well, Emmett I think was half-half. He was still whimpering and moaning. "The people you saw were vampires. Cold ones. Which the Cullen's are turning into. Jake and I and the rest are werewolves, we protect the people."

"What? You mean you were the wolves last night?" I asked, shocked. He only nodded. "Why did you come after us?!!? I mean, you looked like you were going to murder Edward!!!"

He seemed to be thinking about what he was going to say. Finally, he opened his mouth, "We have very short tempers, Bella. That was Jake who you saw. Apparently he talked to you and Edward interrupted. He got very mad when I brought it up."

"Okay…" So, my ex-best friend tried to kill my boyfriend. Screwed up world we live in now-a-days. Or at least I live in. "Moving on. Why exactly did the vampires change the Cullen's, I mean, I thought they were supposed to suck their blood or something."

"Almost all vampire sayings are myth. They don't have fangs from what we've seen. And they've been out in the sun, thinking we weren't around." Sam said, as a matter of fact-ly.

"So, werewolves don't turn only on Full Moons? And they don't need blood?" I asked, trying to remember anything I've ever heard of on vampires and werewolves. It wasn't much.

"No." He chuckled. "We don't need full moons. It just takes practice to change back and forth. And we just eat a lot of food. So, no blood." He paused, then added, "Only male's change. Females just carry the gene."

"So, no alpha female? Just alpha male." I said, more like a statement. I heard a scream and looked over to Emmett, now wide awake. "What's going to happen to them?"

"They're going to become blood sucking leeches." He looked from Emmett to me. "We can't let them, Bella. We have to kill them."

I gasped, surely Sam didn't just say that. "What!?!"

"We have too, Bella. It's the only way."

"No it's not! You can just have them leave when the change is over! How long does it take?"

"I-I don't know. But we can't allow them to go mad when they are fully changed." He said sternly.

"I won't let you." I said, raising my head.

"You're no match for me, Bella."

"I won't ever forgive, Sam. You or Jake, or Quil, or Embry, or the rest. Never."

"If that's the way it's got to be." He said back to me.

I shook my head, disbelieving, "How could you, Sam? You're killing innocent people!"

"THEIR NOT INNOCENT!! THEY'RE LEECHES, BELLA!!!!" He was shaking now, but immediately calmed down.

"It's not their fault they were changed." I said softly. He looked up at me, realization must have hit him, because his eyes were softened with the rest of his hard face.

"Bella…we have to." He said weakly. "We have too."

I walked over to Sam. I grabbed one of his hands into mine. "Sam. No, you don't have to. Please. Just-just tell them when they wake up, that they have to leave. Please, for me."

He was about to break, I know he was. "Bella…" He groaned. "On one condition."

"What?"

"You have to agree right now." He said, determined. Hey, as long as it kept the Cullen's safe, I was for it. Even if was the last time I would ever see them. As long as they were fine.

"Okay. I agree." I shook his hand.

"You have to leave. Now. It's too dangerous for you, Bella. We'll take care of them." He added the last part, a bit distastefully.

"But…" I had agreed to it, so I had to follow through. I went over to each of the family members and kissed them on the forehead, saying bye to them. I saved Edward for last, giving him a kiss on the lips. It reminded me of Romeo and Juliet. When they were in the tomb and they both kill themselves for the other. When I pulled back, I looked up to remember Edward's face. To permanently stamp it in my mind. His eyes opened just as I was about to get up. So I plopped right back down.

"Edward?" I said quietly.

"Bell-ah?..." His voice wheezed.

"I have to leave, my love." I tried to hold back the tears, but they fell anyways. I only heard his raspy breathing. "Good-bye, my love."

I kissed him again and left the house. Once I was in my truck, I whispered,

"_When he shall die,  
Take him and cut him out in little stars,  
And he will make the face of heaven so fine  
That all the world will be in love with night,  
And pay no worship to the garish sun."_

I knew I would still love him. Forever. Nobody could make me forget him. The only thing I hoped for was that Sam kept his end of the bargain.

**Although I don't really like that excerpt from Romeo and Juliet, it fits. But the first time I saw the movie, the first thing that came to mind was stars out of skin and blood. Sickening, I know. Never really got over it. **

**20 reviews people! That's why I updated again!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**By the way, the house fire-wasn't what you thought. It was the fake death planning.**

**Sorry for the late update, but I couldn't find chapter 26 but I accidentally skipped it and chapter 27 and 28 were the same because someone erased one. **

_**Chapter 26 (Jake's POV)**_

"When is it over!?!" Paul exclaimed.

"Yeah. I'm tired of taking care of these dying leeches." Jared added.

"I don't know. We've never had to do this before." Sam said, worn out by the pack complaining, the changing vampires, and the vampires that keep trying to get in our area.

"Well it better be soon, because I don't know how much more of this I can take. Jeez, this is worse than Sam's cooking." Paul said.

"HEY!!" Sam broke out. We all laughed, though tired laughs. Sam just rolled his eyes and said, "That's why Emily cooks in our household, not me."

"Yeah, we know." Paul retorted. A scream followed by others broke off Sam's reply. "Great, what now?!"

Sam shot him a glare and we walked to the room where the family was at. We were watching as they screamed in agony and heard their heartbeats go faster and faster. I turned my attention to Sam and watched his expression. His head was cocked to one side and he was listening intently for something, so I did the same. The screams died down and nothing was heard but their rapid breathing. No heartbeat.

Sam straightened, "Their finished. Their vampires."

Growls went through the house which was met with snarls and hisses. The vampires stood in front of us in a swift, non human graceful way. The oldest one, the father, Carlisle, was calm but had a wild look to him. They watched us with their red, bloodsucking eyes.

"Do you remember anything?" Sam asked in his authoritive tone.

"What?" Carlisle asked, turning his attention to Sam.

"Do you remember any memories or anything about being bit?" He asked, not shaking at all. We all have grown used to the smell they had when they were turning, but now they were full fledged vampires. Paul and Quil were close to exploding.

Carlisle's eyes narrowed as he remembered, "Yes, very little." He glanced back up at Sam, "What happened?"

"You were bitten by vampires. And the venom stayed in your bloodstream and you yourselves were turned." Sam told him.

"What are you? And why do you smell so bad?" He asked, not disgustingly, but rather curious.

Before Sam could answer, Edward did, "Werewolves."

Everybody looked to him, wondering how he knew. Maybe it was just instinct. I wouldn't doubt it. Carlisle looked to Sam for confirmation, which Sam nodded his head.

"Yes, we are werewolves. Enemies of each other. That is why you cannot stay here. You must leave. If you don't, we have no choice but to kill you." Sam went back to his authoritive tone.

"Why didn't you kill us?" The big one asked. I remembered his name as Emmett.

Sam glanced at me and me, at Edward, who watched us with piercing eyes. "We promised someone we wouldn't. But make no mistake…" He switched to a death tone. "If you hurt one person anywhere near here, every single one of you will be killed."

"Then we must be on our way." The mother said, smiling hard at us. "Thank you for taking care of us."

"Your welcome." Sam said. "You can take whatever you want from your house. It's going to be burned down so that we can fake your death."

"Oh." Esme said, not wanting to leave her beautiful home. "Okay."

"Who's Bella?" Edward piped up, as his family was about ready to leave. They had only a few bags to take.

"What!?!" I said, almost screaming. "How do you know who she is?"

Edward's eyes narrowed at me. "Somebody called upstairs. It read Bella." I didn't hear anything, but--- "It was on silent."

I looked at him in suspicion. I wasn't sure if he was lying or not. He might have a memory of her. But, if he asked who she was, then I highly doubted he remembered her at all. "She's someone you worked for."

"Ah, she's beautiful." He said, looking far away. I glanced at the pack, seeing similar expressions of confusion on their faces.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked. Edward looked at him, but made no sound.

"Are you going to answer him?" Paul asked, sneeringly.

Edward had a calm face on when he replied, "I saw a picture upstairs with me and her."

I didn't believe him. But I didn't doubt him. I nodded my head, "Alright, any other questions?" 

"No, I think that is it." Carlisle said as they walked to the door. "Thank you so much for everything."

Sam shook his hand and told him that we would escort them until they were far enough away that was satisfactory by us. It was five hours later, after leaving them, telling them not to return, and patrolling the border that we had…and now I had to tell Bella they were gone. Everybody said to wait for tomorrow, but I couldn't. I had to tell Bella they left. And I was going to tonight.

I snuck into her house, being as quiet as possible, and went to her room. But she wasn't there. I was starting to worry but soon ran outside to find her. I checked the barn to see if she was in our spot, but she wasn't. I ran to check the stables and smelled her recent smell. I followed her smell to the upstairs attic.

She was just sitting there, looking out the window. I'm surprised I didn't see her before.


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

Okay, I retyped this this morning. It's kinda close to the end, maybe. But I've been having trouble updatin' bc I'm selling sweet corn at the farmer's market all day. But I'm keeping up!!!

_**Chapter 27 (Jake's POV)**_

"Hey." I said softly, getting her attention.

She stared at me with empty eyes. Lifeless eyes.

"Um." I shifted uncomfortably. I took a deep breath and smelled a nasty smell. "Arh, what was a bloodsucker doing here?"

She looked out the window, not the least bit interested, "Watching Edward and I a few days ago. The day of the party."

"How do you know?" I asked her. She didn't know about them then and she didn't have senses like us. But it _was_ Bella; she could do anything and surprised us every time.

"We saw 'em. And felt somebody watching us." She said simply. Then she turned back to me with eyes filled with hurt, "They're gone, aren't they?"

I took another breath of polluted air, "Yes."

"Did they say anything?" She turned away, but I saw the hopeful look in her expression.

I licked my lips. Which one would be better for her? The truth? Or the lie? "No. They didn't remember anything. The pain of the transformation must have wiped their memories."

"I guess its better this way then." She said as tears ran down her face.

I walked swiftly to her and took her into my arms. She started sobbing hard. Her body shook as each cry came out.

"Why?" She carried out to me. "Why did this happen?"

She grabbed onto me and I pulled her tighter to me, "I don't know. Those vampires have been trying to get in for awhile now. But we never knew what they wanted."

"Well, you know now." A hard tone came from her.

"Bella, I didn't mean it that way. I'm sorry." I hope she would forgive me. "It's my fault. The pack was taking care of me, making sure I wasn't going to kill anybody."

"Why?" She asked, the sobs coming less and less. I found a distraction and went for it.

"Because I was so mad. And when you're mad and a werewolf, it's never a good thing." I shook my head, thinking how stupid I was.

"What do you mean?" She wasn't crying as much anymore.

"Whenever we get really mad, we change into werewolves. It's hard to change back. You have to remain calm and slow your body down. It's hard to do when you want to be running and chasing after leeches. Our senses take over and it's like we're not ourselves. That's why we couldn't be near you."

"Do you hate it?" She asked a question I wasn't for sure on.

"I-I don't know. I used too, but now…now that you know, I'm not for sure." I stuttered out.

"So, now that my boyfriend and his family were turned and that's how I found out, you're happy?" She was starting to get hysterical. I looked closer and saw dark circles around her eyes.

"Bella, calm down. I'm sorry, that came out wrong." I said quickly. She tried to stop the sobs that were coming out.

We could hear sirens coming from town. I wondered how big the fire was now. Bella heard the sirens too. Well, you didn't need enhanced hearing to hear 'em. "Wonder what's going on."

I looked at her, wondering yet again. Truth or lie? This time truth, "Fire. House fire."

She looked up at me, confused. "What?"

"Well, the Cullen's just can't disappear." I said, kinda sarcastically.

"Oh." She said, tearing up again, "It's just a cover-up."

"Yep. As far as everyone knows, the Cullen's are dead." Which they are, I just didn't wasn't to say that.

"Jake?" She laid her head on my chest, hiding her face. "Do you think I'll ever see them again?"

"Do you want the truth?" I asked. If she did, it would just break her broken heart more.

"Yes."

"Then no. Their not allowed anywhere near us." I said, "If they are, they'll be killed."

"What!?" She pulled away from me.

"It's the way things are, Bells." I was still holding her in my arms. "They drink humans and we have to protect our town from them."

"But-but what about some type of—"

"No. There's no way. They would be too close. We wouldn't be able to keep control. And neither would they." I added the last sentence to try to tell her we couldn't live peacefully together. It would be a bloody war.

Which was going to happen if they came back.

**Next chapter is Edward's POV!!!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**To answer one reviewer's question-the Cullen's don't remember Bella bc of the pain. They remember certain parts, but not Bella. Edward has a little memory, but not a whole lot-not enough to put the pieces together. But don't worry, he may do that next chapter. hehehe. **

_**Chapter 28 (Edward's POV)**_

It had been a week since we've met the wolves. We were currently now in Alaska. When we were traveling, trying to sedate our thirst, we met a vampire who drank from animals instead of humans. We were doubtful but it suppressed the thirst we felt. Well, at least a little.

When the vampire had invited us back to his house after hearing our story, we agreed and here we were now.

"Edward? Do you need to go hunting?" Carlisle said as he walked into the room. I looked up from the book I was reading.

"Sure." I said. When I met the girls, they soon filled their heads with thoughts of my brother's and I. It was quite hard to concentrate. And disturbing. "Does anybody else need to?"

"Nope. Just us two." I tried to read his mind, but it was only focused on hunting, nothing else. It was a special thing I could do. That's how I knew the people we woke up to were werewolves. But I still didn't know who Bella was. I heard the leader think how bad it was going to be when we left. And when I asked, their minds filled with pictures of a girl with brown hair and brown eyes. They also thought of my name when I brought the girl's name up.

"Alright. Let's go." Carlisle brought me back to reality. He didn't need to go, but he wanted something.

"Okay." I got up and we quickly went downstairs and out the door, into the cold. Once we got quite a way's form the house, we went to fill our thirst. I at least did. Carlisle was in the same spot was I left him when I returned. I heard his thoughts and he wanted to have a talk.

"Edward, son. I just wanted to talk to you about your…ability." He paused, thinking of what to say. "Yes, well. I was wondering about it. If you could turn it off and on?"

Okay, I got it now. He was curious about it, how it all worked and what-not. "No, I can't. I try to tune it out, but it's hard."

"And…do you hear everybody's thoughts? Or just one?"

"Everybody's." I said depressed. Sure it was a good thing when trying to get information from someone or talking to people you couldn't trust, but…it was horrible when you had to hear people's private thoughts. Especially Emmett and Rosalie's.

"Is there a certain area limit?"

"Yes. Actually, it depends. On how many people there are and if I've heard their mind before."

"Okay." He said, thinking of yet another question.

"Carlisle?" His attention came back to me. "Are you going to do this to Alice and Jasper?"

"I already have. This morning actually. I asked the rest of the family if they had any hidden abilities." He said.

"Well….did they?" I asked when his mind kept going back to think of a question to ask me.

"Oh, no. Although I think Emmett's strength was improved as was Rosalie's beauty. Esme's motherly love or kindness was greatly enhanced. And you, of course know of Alice's physic ability and Jasper's empathy."

"What's yours? Your ability not to do anything bad?" I asked, half sarcastic.

"Well, I think my compassion."

I asked a question I've been wondering about for awhile. "Are you going to be a doctor again?"

I had read his thoughts and saw him remembering his 'doctor days'. "No, I doubt that. But I am going to try. I have to master the thirst first. It will take a long, long time."

"Yes, it will." I said, in awe of what he was even thinking of doing.

_I knew this family was special._ The thoughts came from the forest, along with some others. I immediately stood up.

As soon as I did, seven red-eye vampires stepped out. Carlisle stood beside me but kept calm and serene, unlike the stare I was giving them.

"Hello." The long black haired one said. He looked familar but I couldn't place him.

"Hello. My name is Carlisle. This is my son, Edward." My father introduced us.

"They already knew." I said, reading their thoughts and hearing them know of the rest of our family. They all looked to me and Carlisle stiffened for a second but relaxed his stance.

"Yes, we did. But how did you know that?" The white haired one asked, not to nice either.

"He read our minds, Caius." The one that said 'hello' replied, very happy about something.

"Really?" He wasn't impressed but curiosity was there. "It's different from your then, Aro?"

"Yes, it would be a great asset, wouldn't it?" Aro, I guessed, said.

I heard our family coming, well the thoughts of the family coming. The big black haired guy on their side also heard them and told Aro.

"I am excited to meet the rest of the Cullen's." Aro said joyfully.

"How did you know are last name was Cullen? I only said our first names when I introduced us." Carlisle asked as our family came to stand beside us.

"They're the ones who changed us." I said darkly, reading Aro's mind again. My family went angry and Jasper calmed us down quickly. I heard Emmett's thoughts of ripping them apart and I agreed with him. I felt something missing from my life, but couldn't remember what it was.

"WHY!?!" Rosalie bursted in the silence. I knew from her thoughts and Jaspers empath that she regretted this life. She missed her old one when she modeled and everybody paid attention to her. Emmett was the opposite. He was the first on of us kids to accept this life.

"We needed you. We've been watching you for some time now. We knew you were special. Well, some of you." He said looking at me. I tried to block my mind in case he was reading it. They did say his power was similar to mine.

"Explain." Jasper spoke up.

Aro took a deep breath and started, "We are the Volturi. There are three of us--Caius, Marcus, and myself." He pointed out each one. "And we have our guards. These are our main ones. We, of course have more. We are like the…royal family of vampires."

He looked at us, each one of us, and stopped at Carlisle, "And we want you to join."

**I have to go work!! But if there's 20 reviews (or about-I don't really count-if it looks over fifteen, it's all good) another chapter!!!!**

**And of course, for those who are wanting a happy ending…I'm am such a sucker for those, so don't worry.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 29 (Edward's POV)**_

I checked their thoughts. They were serious. But none of my family wanted to join and neither did I. They took something from me and I didn't even know what it was.

Carlisle looked at me, wanting to know who's everybody's opinions were. So I stepped up, "I'm sorry, but we will have to decline your offer."

They stared in disbelief, "What?"

"We'd rather not. From the looks of your eyes, you drink human blood. Well, we're trying not to. We don't _want_ to be monsters." I said in reply.

"Why fight temptation? Nature? It's in your system to drink humans! Why fight!?!" Caius said.

_Maybe it would've gone better if that girl was changed_. I saw the girl, Bella, in Aro's mind. I saw his memory of her. She was talking care of us. Of me.

"Who is she?" I asked before I could think.

Aro smiled at me, "Would you like to see?"

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"It's what I do." He took Carlisle's hand and I saw all his memories. No, not memories. Thoughts.

"How-how could---" I broke off remembering what they did to me and my family.

"It's my power. Similar to yours. All I have to do is touch the person and I see every thought they've ever had." He paused, thinking. "Would you like to remember you own?"

Why, yes. I would like to remember the past seventeen years that I can't for the life of me, remember. Because of you. "Yes, I would."

"Well," He smiled mischievously. _You must join first._

"No." I said sternly. No matter what, I would never join them.

He frowned. "Oh well, I can see you won't do anything I ask." He sighed, "But I would like to see your thoughts anyways. I'm terribly curious."

I hesitated, but I did want to see who she was. "O-okay."

He walked gracefully over to me and took my hand in his. Through his mind, I saw my thoughts. From childhood on until now. But the ones I focused on were of the girl. Bella.

The first one was when I met her, she was beautiful in every sense. Beautiful and smart. I remembered how stupid I felt when I asked her about a shotgun. Then the tractor and its brakes. I smiled when the bet came up and she came over and kissed me. I could remember how it felt like, but couldn't actually feel it.

I yearned for it.

The last memory of her was saying goodbye. I saw tears falling before my eyes closed and felt the pain. It was greater than the transformation.

Aro went through my thoughts until now. He let me go after hearing them.

"Well…she sounds quite interesting." He said as he thought of the possibilities when he changed her.

"No. She doesn't need to go through the pain." I said, deciding fast.

"What if she's your soul mate?" The one, Marcus, finally said something.

"Maybe she's not." I said, not believing what I said. I felt some strange pull to this girl.

"You're obstinate, aren't you?" Caius said in a sneer.

"Very."

"We all are." Rosalie stepped up.

"Yes, well, when I heard you were drinking from animals." Aro said the word disgustedly. "It made it all the easier."

"What did?" Carlisle asked.

Alice had a vision, like she always had, but hid from us, not wanting to be sent to the physiologist again. IT was why she was home schooled until the end of junior year. She was able to go home instead of the asylum because she made it like she was normal. I found that out when Aro read my past thoughts. But they didn't know, my family I mean.

"EDWARD, NO!!!!" Alice screamed. I had completely forgotten to see what she saw. But I no time to think as the thirst came over me. It took total control of me, I couldn't think except that I had to get the blood. It smelt so different from animal blood. I lunged at the girl, not caring for her.

"Edward?" The girl asked softly. I bit into her neck, drinking her luscious blood. This time she screamed, "EDWARD!!!"

I was torn away from her. I fought and growled and snarled to get back to her. It was the most wonderful taste and smell. I felt an unnatural calm go through me and I realized what I had just done. I looked to see if the girl was still alive. I couldn't see her as she was blocked by Aro. Two of his guards stood beside him. Aro stood up a turned.

"Well, she'll live. She is very interesting indeed." He said, smiling at me. "I can't use my powers on her." He pursed his lips, "Can you?"

I looked to the girl, still blocked by the two guards. I tried to focus on her thoughts, but there was nothing. "Are you sure she's not dead?"

Aro looked to his guard and the big one bent down and checked. But he didn't have too. We could hear her heartbeat. "She's fine. The venom's going through her blood."

I jerked when he stood with her and I saw her face. It was my beautiful Bella.

**I am SO SO SORRY!!!! I thought I updated this chapter last night!!! But I guess it didn't go through or something! I'm SORRY!!!! **

** This will be the last chapter for the weekend-I have to help the newly weds pack their uhaul-GUESS WHAT!!! I'm getting rid of two brothers!!!!! YEAH!!!! The third one's never around, so...**

**But I have to write some more chapters, I'm getting behind!!  
**


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

Well, I didn't know everybody else knew. Why didn't anyone say anything? Gosh, I feel so left out. (About the excerpt.) And about the movie-they renewed the contract-so it's NOT FOR SURE if there's going to be an actual movie, but come on- seriously-Twilight would be the best movie!! (If they do it right-(they better!!)

Anyways, sorry it's a day late update-I spent the night at my Gma's because she just had surgery and well, gpa's no help. He's funny, but no help. So, I wrote four new chapters! Yeah!!! Now I just have to type 'em. I wrote them all last night. Seriously, no sleep for the past thirty six hours! Woo-Hoo!!!! Yee-HAW! Five POTS of Coffee!!!! (Plus some energy drinks, ice cream, and some cappuccinos) It was a fun night with my cousin. Just like old times. (Thinks back. _Sniff_. Miss those old times.)

OH YEAH!!!! Before I end-I know- LONG authors note, but seriously-Yeah!!! ANYWAYS…I just go the new Linkin Park CD-Minutes to Midnight. IT IS AWESOME!!! I love the video What I've Done- the best video ever. Anyways, my bro doesn't like it bc he thinks it's like anti-war and freedom fighter crap…but don't listen to him, he doesn't know the difference between a best man and a groomsmen. And he doesn't know what a 'playwright' is. I found that out last night when watching Wheel of Fortune. He SOOO needs a better egu-ma-k-sion. (education) It's a school-hick joke. Anyways….READ ON!!!!

_**Chapter 30 (Edward's POV)**_

"Bella?" I asked. I looked to Aro who was smiling happily. I growled at him and before any of them could think, I attacked him.

"Jane!" He yelled under me. I was immediately filled with pain. I collapsed on him, but he easily threw me off of him. The pain stopped, but Bella's pain just started. Her blood called to me, but I stayed away from her, unable to console her. But Carlisle went to her, trying to help. I was surprised by his control.

"Edward?" She said in between screams. My heart broke every time. "Ed—" Another scream broke her sentence off.

"I told you. She's your soul mate." Marcus said, knowingly.

_Edward_…I heard Alice's voice call out to me. I glanced at her to tell her I was listening. _Look_…I saw a vision go through her mind. We were standing still while some unknown force was attacking the Volturi_. We have to hurry._ I nodded in agreement.

"If she is, then I can't live without her." I said, changing my mind on the subject. Carlisle looked up, wondering the change of heart.

_Edward? Something wrong?_ I nodded slightly. He picked Bella up from Demetri's arms, obviously taking her with us.

"Uh, I'm sorry, but you can't take her." Aro stepped forward, not smiling anymore.

"She's my mate. I can't and won't live without her knowing that she's in this world." I said, trying to think of a plan to get her to safety.

"You can always join, Edward. But wait-you said you would never join-no matter what." He turned my early thoughts against me.

"You aren't taking her." I snarled.

"Edward!!" Bella started screaming in pain. I was at her side before anybody could stop me.

"Bella?" I said softly. She opened her eyes a little, breathing hard, trying not to feel the pain.

"I-I thought I would never see you again." She said each word in short breaths. She kept clamping her mouth shut to keep from crying out.

"Oh, Bella." I would have picked her up, but I could still smell her blood. It made the monster rise up in me, but I pushed him down, not letting it take over me. Marcus was right, Bella was my soul mate. I could feel love from her and I knew I had some sort of attraction to her. From the moment I saw her, I knew I was in love with her.

"Edward…I'm sorry for leaving you, but-but it was the only way to save you." She stuttered out.

"Shh…Bella… don't talk. It just adds more pain." I said, putting my fingers over her lips. She quieted down. I slid my hand so that it was cupping her cheek. She closed her eyes and pressed against it.

"That feels wonderful." She said softly. I was surprised at her. My skin was cold and hard while her's was warm and soft. She was right though, it felt absolutely wonderful.

"Jasper?" I looked over to him when Bella winced in hurt. "Would you mind?"

Jasper nodded quickly and wasted no time. He lulled Bella to sleep, easing the pain.

"How exquisite!!" Aro chirped.

Carlisle gave Bella to Esme and turned to the Volturi, "I'm so sorry, but we must be going."

"As Aro said, you cannot take the girl." Caius said.

"Jasper.." I whispered. He slowed their actions and minds while Esme ran with Bella. We made sure she wasn't followed and held the Volturi back. We fought for several minutes until the rest of the Denali coven came.

We outnumbered them greatly now, but the little 'Jane' on their side could hurt someone immensely. At least in their minds.

I stood tall, "Now, as we said before, we are leaving _with_ Bella."

They hissed, but made no move. That's when the wolves came in, attacking everybody. But we stepped down, allowing them to fight the other red-eyed vampires. The guards put their masters in a protective circle to defend them.

But when one of them threw the alpha wolf, the dogs hesitated, which allowed the vampires to make a run for it. The wolves looked to us, seeing if we would attack them. When we stood still, they switched back to human form. They were naked but didn't seem to mind.

"Cullen's." The one named Sam, their leader nodded to us.

"Hello." Carlisle said politely.

"Where's Bella?" Jake said, his eyes going to me.

"Our mother took her to our house." Alice replied. _Edward, be careful of what you say. They're looking for a fight with you. Or at least that one is._

"Why?" Jake got angrier, shaking badly. Sam put a hand on his shoulder, calming him down.

"She was bitten." Carlisle said. The wolves' roars could be heard for miles. I bet even the Volturi could hear them from where they were at. Cowards.

"You!!!" Jake lunged at me, transforming in mid-air. I had a flashback from before, when Aro read my past thoughts. But the memory played in my head. This was the wolf that had attacked me before—when I was human.

I dodged his attacks and Jasper used his powers again to calm the boy down. Along with the others. He transformed, panting hard, and stalked back to his pack.

"What happened?" Sam asked, not as calm anymore. He was livid.

"The Volturi-the coven you chased off-came and visited us. They brought Bella as bait." I said.

"What exactly happened to her? Who bit her?" He asked.

I looked down ashamed of what I've done, "I did."

Jake's snarl was louder this time joined with the others. Even their alpha.

"I'm sorry." I said, looking at them. I don't know why I was explaining this to them, but I was, "I didn't mean too. The-the bloodlust took over me."

"I'll kill you!!!" Jake resisted Jasper's control. He changed once again and came after me. Once again. I evaded his attack and Emmett took him down.

After that, an all out war would break out. We didn't know who would win or lose. Alice didn't even know. It all depended on what the alpha decided.


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**Sorry again. But still at gma's. I finally was able to go home, but only for a few minutes. So, here's the chapter and I don't know if I can update tomorrow bc I have a date. **

_**Chapter 31 (Edward's POV)**_

_You're dead, bloodsuckers!_ I heard one of them call us. Ha, like we didn't already know that. They were talking in they're minds to each other.

_No! Stop! All of you_! Sam's voice called to the rest.

_He killed her Sam! He killed Bella!!!_ Jake mentally yelled. He roared still under Emmett.

Sam winced_. But it was the other ones who took her. We said they couldn't come onto the land, not bite anyone._

_He still killed her!_

_Jake…think about it. Maybe it's better this way. Now she's with Edward again. She won't be living in a state of emptiness for the rest of her life. You saw her, Jake. You saw her hurting._

_She would've gotten over it_. Jake grumbled.

_No…she wouldn't. And you know it, Jake. She never would've gotten over it. Never._

_What about Charlie?_ He asked, trying to get Sam to agree with his side. The rest just watched, or heard, the mental argument.

_We'll take care of him_. Sam said, Jake tried to say something else, but Sam cut him off, tired of dealing with him_. Jake, what are you going to do now? Kill her too? Look at the difference between the vampires who ran off and the ones in front of us._

You mean the one who's still holding me down? He grumbled.

I nodded to Emmett, quietly telling him to let go of the wolf. The wolf looked surprised but quickly made his way back to the pack.

_What more can we do? They stayed away-far away. And it'd be better for Bella._

_What!!!_ They all roared in revulsion.

Sam sighed_. Just think…if we kill them, what would happen to Bella? We couldn't keep her with us, and if those others got a hold of her. He trailed off, letting them rethink their plan._

_How do we know she's in good hands?_ One of them asked.

"What are your eyes not red?" Sam changed forms as the others followed his lead.

"We don't hunt humans, or at least we're going to try not to." Carlisle said.

"What do you hunt?" He asked, curious.

"Animals. That's why we're so far away from people."

Sam glanced at the rest to see their approval. They frowned, but nodded.

"We'll take care of her." I said, following their conversation. "I swear, I'll protect her with my life."

"You don't have one. You're dead." Jacob said sarcastically. Sam glanced at him, annoyed. Some of them just bit their lips to hide their smiles. I bit mine to stop what I was going to say. Jake got the message that Sam was sending-STOP MAKING IT WORSE, well, at least I think he did. "Plus—"

"Jacob Black. Enough." Sam said. He turned his attention back to us. "But he's right. If anything should happen to her…We will find you. Bella was like my daughter or little sister. She's family to us."

"Is? Or was?" Emmett asked.

Their faces hardened, "She will always be a part of our family."

"Even though you won't ever see her again?"

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You'll just drop her because she's you 'born' enemy. Even though it wasn't her fault."

"That's because it's your fault!!!" Jake yelled. I was gettin' mighty tired of him. (AN: I love that sentence.)

"We didn't ask for this life, did we?" I said darkly, challenging them.

"No, but—" He broke off, then started again. "It's still your fault. You bit her."

As soon as he said that, I knew I had to go to her. She was in pain and here I was standing and fighting with…well, I don't want to say idiots, but they weren't helping anything. "Look. It's my fault. Everything's my fault. Got it?"

They were taken back, so I went on, "Now, if we have that settled, can we get on with things? Don't you have some vampires you need to be chasing?"

They were astounded with my little speech.

Carlisle was shocked, but he could still speak, "Yes, he's quite right. We need to see how Bella's doing."

"No." They all said at once. Jake stepped forward, "We took care of all you. You may not be able to take care of her because of the bloodlust."

Alice gasped, "Esme!"

We were running towards the house with the wolves in tow. I don't know if Alice had a vision or if we were just being careful. Right now, I didn't care-as long as Bella was safe.

We broke the door in our haste to get in. I heard Esme's thoughts, she was sustaining from drinking Bella's blood, but just barely. "ESME!"

She ran from the upstairs bedroom down to us, "Yes?"

I let the breath I've been holding, out, sighing in relief. _Changing your mind, Edward?_ Jasper asked me.

I looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. He rolled his eyes at my confusion. _Letting the wolves take care of her during the transformation?_

"NO." I quickly rebutted.

"What, dear?" Esme asked as they looked at me.

"Nothing."

Silence rang through the room.

"So……………………………..what do we do now?" Emmett asked, a little bored since he couldn't fight the dogs.

"We need to figure out a plan." Carlisle and Sam said at the same time. It was quite amusing how their thoughts were alike. They smiled tentatively at each other.

"Eleazar? Tanya? Is it okay if we use your living room?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes." Tanya said, "We'll go check on the girl while you all talk." (AU: They are well-practiced.  )

The Denali's left to go upstairs and we all sat in the living room. Carlisle and Esme sat on one side of the room in the loveseat while Sam and Jake sat on the opposite couch with one of them on each of the armchairs. The rest of us sat on the chairs or floor. Since I was the youngest, I got to sit on the floor. Alice didn't have too, she sat on Jasper's lap.

"So, are we going to start anytime soon?" Emmett asked impatiently after we sat down for two seconds.

"Yes, well." Sam said uncomfortably. "About the change-we will take care of her. We want to see if she'll remember us afterwards."

A piercing scream was heard and a deepening peace went through the house and all we heard was Bella's breathing slowing down. Well, that and her heartbeat along with the wolves.

"How are you doing that?" Sam asked, fighting to stay awake. Jasper may have over done it just a bit.

"It's my ability." Jasper said, taking the sleepiness off of them.

"Do you all have any more?" He asked, curious. Also looking at me.

_Edward, tell them._ Carlisle said. I don't see why-I mean, they are the enemy! But I listened to my father, "I can read minds." _Introduce me!_ "And Alice can see the future."

_He can what! She can what!_ They kept thinking-_they are so lying_. I laughed, "We aren't lying."

"What number am I thinking of?" Sam asked. _I'm not thinking of a number, but a color-PURPLE._

"Purple." I said, smirking. His eyes widened. _Crap._

"That ain't a number!" Emmett scoffed. He looked at Sam. "You need a better education, boy. Cuz you ain't got a good one."

Sam narrowed his eyes. "_'I ain't got a good one'?_ Clearly, I don't need an education, but you do."

"Hey, you're the one who said number but thought a color." Emmett did a 'whatever' look.

That sent Jasper over the top. He couldn't withhold his laughter anymore. He spread it to everybody else. "Oh my. That was so funny. Emmett!"

Emmett grinned, "You shouldn't take things so serious, man."

Sam shrunk back in his seat, "May we get on with it?"

"Sure." Emmett said. "What do you think is going to happen?" He asked in a monotone and made his face all crazy like. That wasn't too hard for him.

"Emmett. You should start taking things more serious." I said, reading his mind. He just wanted to mess with 'em.

"I am." He said, staring intently on each one of them. They were getting a little too crept out.

"Emmett! Stop it. We have things to do afterwards." The last sentence finally broke him out of his trance. He smiled so big, and I immediately shut him out.

"Urh, don't think that." I said disgustedly. He chuckled at me. "For the last time-CAN WE GET ON WITH IT?"

**I so need sleep after writing this. I'm so tired. As you can see, I did not want to have this talk. ******** I'm almost finished writing it. As I said-writing. I haven't typed any other chapters down. But I will try. I know the ending, I just have to get there. I'm up to chapter 38 I think. Maybe 39. Idk. I keep laughing bc I said I was going to be done at 20 chapters, then 25, then 30, then 35, …..but you guys know me, it'll never be like that, I just add too much fluff. Or other plots. Which made my thirty chapter story go an extra ten ******** But I'm pretty happy with that. **


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer-do not own stephenie meyer or twilight or new moon or any copyright material**

**I hope this works!!! **

**_Chapter 32 (Edward's POV)_**

We never got around to talking-we just decided to do it after Bella was changed. Jasper helped as much as he could with Bella and keeping the peace between the wolves and us.

Right now, we were all in Bella's room. There wasn't much blood anymore, but to me, she smelled the most wonderous scent.

It was quite amusing to see one side of Bella's bed was us, the vampires. The other was our enemy, the wolves.

Today, in less than an hour, Bella would wake. A vampire. I couldn't wait until she was up and about. Jasper was having a hard time controlling her emotions it was so painful.

"Jasper, let her feel the pain. Ease into it, though. The sudden shock of pain may kill her." Carlisle said, "You may have to leave."

"Okay." Jasper said. Bella stopped whimpering and groaning and started screaming. Jasper was gone within seconds-Alice following. The thoughts around me were all focused on Bella-hoping she would be okay.

_I'll say this now. Are you listening?_ I didn't know what to make of it,so I ignored it. _BLOODSUCKER! Are you--_ I glanced up at the dog, wondering what he wanted. _Well...I wanted to say._..I rolled my eyes in a get-on-with-it gesture. I'm sorry. The look of surprise was evident on my face._Well, I mean-even though you probably don't remember-I do. You made Bella so happy-happier than when she was with us. I don't know why I'm telling you all this_, He sighed, _but...Bella loves you..no matter what you are._

**_. Flashback at Emmett saying that at the bash._**

Could I make her happy now? She went through all this pain because of me. Because I bit her. Would she forgive me? Would she even remember me?

I would find out in just a few minutes, we could hear her heartbeat slowing, then stopped. It was finally over. She was dead.

"Bella?" I asked, squeezing the hand I've been holding since I've come in the room. She opened her eyes-they were a bright red. I asked again, "Bella?"

She said the word I've been wishing for her to say. Her first word as a new vampire, "Edward?"

I was so happy she remembered me, I reached down and took her into my arms. She hugged me back. Very tightly. "Bell-ah...can't breathe!"

She pulled back, quietly but kept my arms around her. "I'm sorry! I--"

I silenced her with a kiss- not caring what anybody thought. I couldn't wait, though, not until we were alone. I don't even know what possessed me to do it, I haven't even thought about i. But...this was heaven. Kissing her. When we broke apart, she put her head on my shoulder.

"Bella?" Sam asked. _Sorry, don't want to be interrupting anything but--we all have questions._ "Do you remember us?"

"Of course. Why?" She asked, confused.

"Well...you went through a lot of pain. The Cullen's couldn't remember the much after theirs." He explained.

"What pain?" She wondered. This made me worry. Did she not remember the last three days!?! "You mean-I'm-I'm a vampire?"

I didn't know if she was excited or about to go hysterical. "Is that okay? If you are?"

"Yeah, its fine. I get to be with you. Unless..." She trailed off.

I pulled back and stared down at her. "I'm never going to let you go." I warned. "Never."

She smiled brightly, "That's fine with me."

I looked at her worried, "Bella, do you not remember the last three days of pain?"

She twitched her lips, "Not really."

We all stared at her. Finally Jake started laughing. Sam and a few others wore a small smile.

"Wow. That is so you, Bella." Jake chuckled out.

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked.

"She forgets the pain and moves on, like it never happens." He said. "Whenever she falls, she gets right back up."

I smiled wryly. "Yep. Sounds like Bella."

"So what. Her ability is to forget things?" Rosalie asked.

"No. Forget pain." Jake said. He looked at Bella, "What was the last thing you remember?"

"Umm.." She thought back. "Those people-vampires-got me and the last thing was...Edward. I saw Edward."

"That's it?" I asked.

"You-you bit me!" She said. Not angry or anything either. Just exclaiming it.

_She is so weird._ Jasper thought.

"Bella? Why are you happy?" I asked, curious.

"Uh, no reason." She said quickly. She changed the subject, "So, who are you guys?"

(AN: Short yes, but its a saturday and I have a bunch of things to do and I typed this on my gmas old keyboard where you have to pratically punch the keys to get a letter to come up. These next chapters will be like this, but HEY its a chapter. I am going to finish this story before August!!!!!! That's a promise. ( :) mostly bc new books will be coming in and I HAVE to read them.hehehe. )


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**Okay, I couldn't fix the chapter at my gma's. She has an old mac, which the files weren't supported. So…I came back home and fixed 'em. So, it's much, much easy to read. And less confusing. Sorry about the big huge paragraph-but I did fix it. **

**I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU GO BACK AND READ THE LAST CHAPTERIT IS NOW FIXED. **

**Sorry again-I just wanted to get a chapter out.**

_**Chapter 33 (Edward's POV)**_

"Oh, these are the Denali's. Tanya, Carmen, Eleazar, Kate and Irina." I said, pointing to each.

"Hi." She waved shyly.

"So, you remember everything?" Tanya asked.

"UH." Bella seemed to be going through her mind. "Yeah."

I just realized I couldn't read her mind. Still.

_Edward? What's the matter_? Carlisle asked. I looked at him confused_. You look angry_. Pause. _Or frustrated. I can't tell_.

"I still can't read her mind." I said loudly.

"I can't see her either." Alice said, pouting.

"I can't feel her emotions." Jasper said, depressed.

"You can read minds?" Bella asked me, curious. I nodded. "But not mine?" Again, I nodded. Which caused her to be ecstatic, "Awesome."

"Yeah. Radical, dude." I said in a hippie vs. surfer dude voice.

She laughed. The sound was so beautiful. Like angels. So I did what I did next. Kiss her. Again. In front of everyone. Again. This time, I got in the bed and held her in my arms. I stayed beside her when she pulled away.

Edward. Enough. I don't think the wolves have much patience for you. Carlisle spoke through his mind to me. But out loud, he said, "So, shall we talk now?"

Sam nodded and we once again made our way downstairs where we (most of us) could sit, this time with Bella.

"Edward?" Bella whispered beside me. Everybody could hear her, but I guess she didn't know that.

"Yes?" I smiled at her. She blinked a few times before answering.

"I-um-Am I different?" She asked, looking at us.

I stopped and actually looked at her for the first time, "A little."

"Hmmm." She took my hand. "Let's go see."

We ran to the nearest bathroom. Once she saw the mirror, she gasped. "Ohmygod!"

"What?" I asked alarmed. I thought she looked beautiful-like she always did.

"I look-I look gorgeous." She said astonished.

"Oh, you always have." I said, putting my hands on her waist. I looked in the mirror at our reflection. It was so perfect. We were perfect. No, she was.

"Edward, I love you." She said, leaning back into my chest. I bent down and laid my head on her right shoulder. With my left hand I brushed her cheek.

"I love you too." I replied. I noticed her skin had a faint pink against her now pale skin. "I think I'll miss your farmer's tan."

"I think I'll miss your burnt skin." She said back.

"Ha-ha." I took a small pause between each 'ha'. "Come on, they want us in the living room."

Since all the seats were taken, I just stood, leaning against the doorway while Bella leaned against me. We stood where we could see everything. Vampires on our left and wolves on our right.

"So…." Bella started nervously. "What did you want to talk about?"

Nobody talked. This was driving me mad, "Why can't we get past this?"

"Well, actually…" Sam said, taking a stand. "We've thought about it and…Jake came up with an idea." I couldn't tell what they were thinking. It was so confusing; I couldn't focus on just one. "He suggested a treaty."

"A treaty?" Carlisle asked, speculating.

"Yes." Sam said. "But we need to decide on the terms."

"Since you came up with it, why don't you? And we'll see if we can agree on it."

"We saw the other vampires sparkle in the sunlight, so you can't be anywhere sunny. We can ask our brothers to join the treaty. It would give you more safety and allow you to go more places." Sam explained.

"That would be great." Carlisle said, shocked.

"No, that would be a miracle." Tanya said. "They would never join. We've the enemy. They'll kill us before anything."

Carlisle took in what Tanya said, but continued on with the wolves' idea, "So what would the terms be?"

Sam looked at the pack, "Well, if we had more joining, we would all have to agree on it."

Jake broke in, before Sam could say anymore, "How about…they can't bite anybody?" He shrugged, glancing at everybody. "For starters at least."

"Sounds good, Jake!" Bella said, giving a thumbs up at him. He smiled wryly back.

"Do you mind if I use your phone?" Sam asked Tanya. "I need to call the other packs."

"Oh, yes. It's in the kitchen. Here, follow me." She took Sam to the kitchen, allowing small talk to start among us.

_Edward?_ I heard my name being called. I tried to focus on who was saying it. I caught Jake looking at me, so I tuned into his mind. _I was wondering if I could talk to Bella? Alone?_

Alone? I know they thought Bella s family, but…still they could always lose control and hurt her.

"Edward? What's the matter?" Bella asked. I shook out of my daze.

"Nothing. Just someone needs to talk to you." Now, why in the world did I say that? Oh well, at least he asked me.

"Who?" She asked. Jake was in front of her as soon as she ended her one syllable word. "Oh…OKAY!"

She left my side and was out the door in a flash with Jacob following her like a young pup. I felt empty without her beside me. It was like I wasn't whole, complete. I missed her already. Even though she was within hearing.

_Pathetic._ Jasper thought.

**I typed this chapter in less than four minutes-mostly bc I have to go dig some ditches in the cow lot and then pick all the sweet corn we can. YEAH! Love it!!! (It's pretty fun, though-yelling for my little cousin to pick up the bags-hehehe) GTG!!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**This is an author's note I wrote when writing it on paper:**

**I have been up for over 40 hours-its 10 am right now, so I can't get back to sleep(have to take care of gma) The past chapters have been written during last night, so I really didn't want to have 'the talk' so I kept putting it off-as you can see. But I finally got something to write about!!! Yeah, me!!!!**

_**Chapter 34 (Bella's POV)**_

I think I was in heaven. Edward was with me again and we could be together forever. Just like he promised. Although that was when we were both human and thought mythological creatures were…mythological. But he still promised! And he kept it.

"Bella?" Jake asked, bringing my attention back to him.

"Hmmm?" I hummed. We kept walking off the porch and just kept going.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I mean-we're all sorry. You were hurt twice because we failed." He mumbled the last part, but I could still hear it, "Even though you don't remember the second time."

"What was the first time?" I asked.

He stared at me blankly, "Do you not remember that either? When the Cullen's were being turned and they left?"

"Oh." I said, remembering it. "Jake, don't bring up the past! Gosh! Just forget about that!"

He stared again, then finally rumbled, "It was just a week ago!!!!!"

"Jake…" I stared back at him, "Have anything else to say?"

"Stubborn as a horse." He grumbled. But said louder, "Yeah. The packs want to see you again. Maybe about every five years or so? Just to like, catch up on things, you know."

"Sounds great." I said, smiling because they wanted to see me again.

"Really?" He grinned.

"Yeah! It would be fun!" We were now walking back to the house. "Plus, I wanna see how much you grow!"

"So, are you and Ed---" He broke off when he looked up towards the door. We were just up the stairs when Edward opened the front door.

"Jake? What were you going to say?" I asked when Edward didn't say anything, just stood there.

"Um-nothin'." He shook his head and walked to the door. Edward stepped aside for him and then closed the door, staying out here with me.

"Hey. You okay?" I asked him as I circled my arms around his waist.

"Yeah." He smiled a little. "Are you?"

I laid my head on his chest, breathing in his magnificent smell. "Perfect. Now, what was he going to say before you interrupted us?"

He raised his eyebrow, "What did I interrupt?"

I sighed. He knew exactly what I was talking about. "Edward. He was asking something about us and I know you know….so tell me!"

He grinned crookedly, "What if I don't?"

"Edward!!!!!" I whined and pouted.

He let out a small laugh, "Alright, alright. He wanted to know if we were really mates and if we were getting married."

"Yes to the first and no to the last." I said, going into the house. I didn't get past the door.

"What?" He pressed me up against the front door. His face was full of pain and no longer playful.

"Sorry, Edward. But I won't ever marry. Look what happened to Charlie and Renee." I said. I hoped he would understand because well, that's the one thing I ever promised myself-never to marry. (AU: I think I added this bc I now hate weddings. I love planning them, but not going to them. Especially the ones that are so….grrrrrr.)

"What do you mean? I thought you loved me!" He stepped back, releasing me and I fell to the porch.

The door opened quickly behind me, showing an irate Jake, "She loves you, you idiot!!!!!"

Edward narrowed his eyes at us as Jake helped me up, "Even though---"

"She said she was your mate!" Jake shouted at him. He looked disbelieving at him, "So what if she doesn't want to marry. She loves you, but right now, I don't see your love for her."

"WHY YOU----BEEP—(censored) BEEP!!!! BEEP BEEP!!!!!(Nah, I'm just kiddin'. Edward would never cuss. How dare you even think that!!!!! Hehehe)

Edward lunged for him and they fell through the porch, breaking the wooden boards.

"Edward! Jake!" I shrieked. I jumped down and took the fist that was aimed for Jake's face and swung it back at Edward. He flew off Jake and looked surprised at me. Jake, now in wolf-form, tried to get back at Edward. I held him down, trying to calm him, "Jake, please, please, please! Calm down!!!" That would work, wouldn't it?

Nope.

"JACOB BLACK!!! YOU CALM DOWN THIS INSTANT!!!"

Big, NO.

"Jakey-poo. I'm going to go get Sam!" I said like a tattle tale.

BUT IT WORKED!

He fell to the ground, human form and naked.

"Jake!!!You—OMMYGOD!!!!" I knelt beside him, taking in bite marks, black eyes and ripped skin.

"Don't worry 'bout it, Bells." He took my hands off but didn't release them. Just looked strangely at them, "They're cold."

"Jake, your bleeding. We have to—"

"I'll be fine. We heal fast." Jake said. A blanket fell from the opening the boys made. I picked it up and draped it over a grinning Jake.

"Jake, still. They could get—"

"Bell's," He put a finger over my mouth, "I will be just fine. I've had worse."

"But…" I looked up where Edward was supposed to be, but wasn't.

"What's the matter?" Jake asked, sitting up. "Oh." He looked where I was. "Stupid leech. So over reactive. Like a woman."

"HEY!!!" I heard several voices ring out above me. I laughed, knowing Jake never considered me one-he never did. I was just his best friend. And that was fine with me.

"Where do you think he went?" Jake asked, getting up.

Suddenly, I was hit with a vision. I could see everyone and everything. I saw above the porch, separated into two groups watching the hole. I went through the house, seeing nobody. It switched and went to the forest. I past the trees, faster than a vampire would. I found Edward sitting on the ground with his head in his hands. He was about to look up, but I was thrown back into myself.

I opened my eyes and was back under the porch with Jake.

"Bella?" Jake asked me. I don't think two seconds had past when I was hit with—whatever that was.

"He's in the forest. I have to go." I was gone and I followed where I saw Edward was at. I found him, just as he was getting up, "Edward?"

His eyes met mine and I knew something was wrong.

"I have to go."

**OHHH!!! NO!!!! What's the matter with me!!!! Oh, well. It's not as bad as it seems. **

**Song to go with this**

**What I've Done by linkin park.**

**(I know-----hehehe-----I'm addicted to their latest album.)**


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

**Just finished writing this, well, typing. I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED WRITING IT!! Chapter 39 is the last chapter! Who-hoAH! YEEE-HAW!!! (I always get the foreign exchange students to say that-it's so funny!!! (You know they don't have country music in Germany?????? Omg!!! I'm sending my friend some cds around Christmas-among with marshmallows, Reese's peanut butter cups and Snickers. All stuff they don't have. (And she's addicted to. Her whole suitcase was full of food.) THEY ALSO Don't HAVE HAMBURGERS!!!!!) Okay, anyways-Here's Edward's point of view.**

_**Chapter 35 (Edward's POV)**_

How was I going to explain this?

"Bella, I'm sorry. You have to understand." I said, turning away. I wasn't too far away that I couldn't read the thoughts of the household. I can't believe he called me a woman!

Just like Rosalie saying I was gay. I growled slightly, not noticing it.

"Edward? Are you okay?" Bella asked me, hesitant. She looked scared. I went over to her and held her possessively.

"Bella…I love you." I said.

"I love you too, Edward." Bella said, pulling me tighter to her. She wasn't going to let me go, was she?

"Bella…I—" I looked down at her. She was snuggled into my chest. It almost looked like she was sleeping. "Come on. Let's go to the house."

We walked to the house and Bella kept her arms around me, not letting me go, "Bella, do you want me to carry you? It might be easier—"

"I'm fine." She said simply. We came out of the forest and saw everybody on the porch. Uh-oh. I was in deep-deep trouble.

"Edward." Esme said disapprovingly when we got closer. "Didn't I teach you better? You shouldn't be beating people up!"

I heard snickers go around, but Jake wasn't one of them. He protested instead, "Hey! He didn't beat me up! I'm perfectly fine!"

"Males and their egos." Bella laughed quietly beside me. The women laughed with her.

"Well, I have to go." I stepped back, taking Bella by surprise.

But she still retaliated with a stern, "No."

"Bella, I have to."

"No." Her body was stiff and face was expressionless.

"I have to go h-" Her eyes went to a daze for a second and arms went looser, but still stiff. "Bell-"

"More wolves are coming." She said. "About forty or so. They should be---"

Everybody watched as the wolves padded down the long driveway.

"Shopping trip!" Alice cried out. Obviously thinking to buy clothes for the naked wolves. "Rosalie, come on!"

"Alice," I said, "You don't have enough control to be around the humans."

Her face fell and her bottom lip trembled. Jasper gave me a glare as he went and consoled his mate, "You can still shop online, my dear." (AU"HEHEHE! I THINK THAT LINE IS SO FUNNY!)

She again was elated.

Tanya instructed Alice and Rosalie to go get clothes for the new arrivals. Jake still had a blanket around him. The girls were back by the time the wolves reached us.

"Hello, brothers." Sam said, walking past us. Alice and Rose followed him, arms full of jeans and shorts. Sam turned to look at the rest of us. Bella got the message faster than anyone. Even me, the mind reader.

"Alright, everybody inside while they change." She said, shooing us into the house.

"Actually, some of us have to hunt first." I said. Jasper I knew had to and Bella might. I knew I definitely had to.

Bella stopped and looked at me. "That's why you wanting to leave?"

I nodded and she looked embarrassed. She still had the pink in her face, almost like a blush. "Whoops. Sorry."

"What did you think I was doing?" I asked jokingly.

Bella looked down, like she was ashamed, "I-I thought you were leaving me."

My smile disappeared. How could she think that? "Isabella, I will never leave you. Never."

"I know. I just…" She finally looked up at me, "I'm sorry."

"Oh, Bella." I wrapped her up in my arms and carried her inside, away from the naked men.

This time, Bella and I got the chair. Emmett gave me a cold stare. Alice just laughed, "Don't worry guys. We have to go outside in a second anyways. Only the leaders are going to talk since there's so many."

"Aright, they're ready." Jake said at the door. We all went outside except Carlisle and Tanya. The pack leaders went inside and the rest of us just lounged around, not talking.

Emmett chuckled beside me. _What should we do to break the ice?_ I shrugged. _Should I ask them if they want to play fetch? _

I tried to hide my outburst of laughing by coughing. Emmett clapped me on the back, as if to help. They kept watching us two after that, wary of us. "Uh, Jasper? Do you need to –um-"

"Yes." He stood up and walked around the wrap around porch to the back.

"Bella?" I asked, catching her attention from Alice and Tanya's laptop.

"Hmmm?" She said, looking at me.

"Do you need to-uh-leave?" I said, not wanting to say the word feed or anything like that while they watched us like hawks.

She simply smiled, "Nope. I'm okay."

I went the way Jasper did and saw that the rest of my family and the Denali's had too. All except Bella. I was about to go back when Alice said she'd be fine with the wolves.

_**Bella's POV**_ (_I was getting bored with Edward. Although, I did love that Emmett comment about playing fetch. )_

_Going back a little in time- just a few seconds_

Alice and I were searching the internet for clothes. Let me tell you, much better than going to malls. "I'm going to go with Edward."

She got up and gave me the laptop and left to go with the rest of the family. I stayed where I was at on the porch stairs. After a few minutes, Jake came over and sat on the step below me. Before he got the chance, I spoke, "You know, your comment about if Edward and I getting married sure brought up a bunch of problems."

"Yeah…I hope he heard my thought about the over reactive woman." He laughed and I smiled as I glanced at him. I bet Edward had, but wasn't for sure. "So, whatcha lookin' at?"

I grinned at him, "Collar's. With those pointy spikes. You'd look good in one."

He made a face a me, "Ha-ha. So funny."

"Give me a 'grrrr'!'" I laughed, watching his face. He was trying not to laugh. "Oh, Jakey-poo!" (AU-my own brother's nickname. Actually-it's a family thing to do that!)

He wrapped an arm around me and turned me to face him, while doing that, he placed me in his lap-like a child. And started tickling me. "HA! Think its funny know?"

"Yes." I giggled while trying to get his fingers away.

"Really?"

I laughed in his face, not able to get away. "NO! JAKE! NO! DOWN, BOY! DOWN!"

"HEY!!" He said in mock hurt.

I gasped, hit with yet another vision. Another pack of wolves were circling the two vampire families. "Jacob, Stop."

He immediately stopped, but kept his hands on my waist. I stood up, "Their in trouble, Jake. There's a pack following them."

"How do you know?" He asked.

"I saw it." That's the only thing I said before I took off.

"Bella!!" I heard as I ran.

I sped off, following the trail that smelled of Edward. I was almost to him, when something hard hit my side, barreling me into a tree. Poor tree. Nothing was left of it.

I groaned as I stood, I could hear the wolf. Even though my eyes were closed, I could see him. I saw three wolves come up behind him and then spread out, circling me. They gave strange glances to each other. Then they crouched, ready to leap.

I looked past them, seeing where everybody else was. The Cullen's and Denali's were talking after picking up a fresh trail of werewolf. The wolves that were in the yard were fighting with Jake and Sam whether or not to come after me and help. The leaders were on the porch, watching the feud.

I ducked right in time as the wolves lunged at me. I stepped out of their reach as they snapped at me, "What do you want?"

They growled and this time, only one came at me, I side-stepped it grabbed its fur and slammed it into a nearby tree. It wasn't dead, just knocked out. Another one came at me and fell on top of me. It bit me on my shoulder and I tried to kick him off, but he kept attached to me. If I wasn't for sure he was a wolf, I would think he was a vampire. I grabbed his front leg and squeezed it; breaking it. He yelped, pulling back. I kicked him again and he flew off me, landing by the two wolves that were left.

Three more wolves came up. I sighed, knowing they wouldn't give up, "Why are you doing this? Seriously, you can't give us a chance?"

They snorted. Well, it sounded like they sneezed, but I knew it was snorting. I heard breathing behind me and stiffened. A wolf nudged my arm, sliding under it. I looked at 'em and it was….

**I know there was a lot of AN's but…yeah. Loved yesterday's reviews. I was so tired that I added that Edward cussing part. BUT IT WAS FUNNY!!!**


	36. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

Okay, sorry ya had to wait so long, it's been hetic-MY BROTHER IS MOVIN OUT!!!!!! Two down, one to go…again. YAAAHOOOOO!!! I know-so mean-but so true! 

I was also wrong with the number of chapters. This is the second to last chapter. Just in time for all the new books in August. Yeah!!! Although I think Invisible by edward-and-bella-forever is pretty good. It's one of the fanbooks on the site—READ IT!

_**Chapter 36 (Bella's POV)**_

_the pack that's attacking is one that just came-not one that was there already. This pack heard of the treaty and wanted to ruin it…by killing a vamp and the wolves being blamed for it…but Bella saves the day! And all the 'good' wolves come to the rescue!_

Jake licked my face, making sure I was okay. Sam slid under my other arm. They helped me stand and I winced once I was back on my own feet. The pain in my side and shoulder rose, almost causing me to collapse. Growls and roars were heard everywhere. I tried to force myself to have a vision and it worked. Behind the opposing wolves were more wolves that came for the treaty. They created a circle to trap the 'bad' wolves. In all, there were seventeen 'bad' wolves. The leaser's and the rest of the vampires were waiting on the other side of the circle, where the rest of us was supposed to chase these other wolves.

"You better run for you life, otherwise…" I trailed off, letting them think whatever. 'My' wolves advanced and the opposing stepped back. Soon we were chasing them towards the goal. They stopped right in front of them. They kept going in circles, trying to find a way out. No luck. There were so many wolves, that if the idiots got out, they still had to go through another circle of wolves. Reinforcement! YE-ah

"I suggest you surrender now. There's no way you can win." One of the pack leaders said. Only three of them changed, the rest surrounded them, protecting them.

"Yes. And there's no way that vampires and wolves can live peacefully together." I guess it was the alpha who said that. He looked small in comparison to the rest of the chief's.

"Really?" I stepped forward. He turned quickly, something flickered in his eyes. "Then what are we doing now?"

"Being deranged and—"

"No. We're working together. And no one was hurt. No one's instincts took over and harmed anyone." I said in response.

"Yet. Have you guys even been around people? What happens then?" He flouted.

"I think it's a good start. And no. _I've_ never been around humans. I just woke up not to long ago."

"Liar." He retorted. Though I think he did indeed believed me.

"I'm not. This treaty will work. You don't have to join but don't try killing us just because we're trying to keep peace and work together." I warned.

"Oh, don't worry. We won't try." He laughed. I walked closer to him, stopping just outside his 'guards'. He stiffened, "What are you doing?"

"They haven't attacked me. See." I raised my hands, showing the wolves.

"Ar! We won't EVER join that stupid treaty!" He shouted.

"We'll see."

He sniffed, "You smell like a werewolf's been on you. Are ya sure ya didn't get attacked?"

"Only by you and your gang." I said, trying to hold back the cold, hard, bite in my voice. "How's the leg?"

His growl came out and I couldn't hold back my smile, "Fine. Already healed. How's the shoulder?"

"Fine. Already healed. How's the face?" I asked smiling.

"What do you—" A loud SLAP wiped his smirk off. Probably made them all angrier and didn't help none, but I just had too. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!!!?"

"Biting me!!!! What are you? A vampire!!?"

"No. A dog."

"You mean a wolf?" I grinned.

He scowled, "Yes."

"How about you not think of tearing her apart and think about how to get out of this?" Edward said, coming to my side. Jake came over and sat on my other side.

"What are you even trying to accomplish?" He glowered. "Not all vampires and wolf packs are going to join."

"But we can try." I said. He stared at me, trying to comprehend. He finally looked to his pack and told them to stand down.

"I won't join. At least not without talking to my pack. But I won't promise anything." He said.

"That's okay. IF you at least talk about it, it means you're trying." I smiled at him, nicely this time. He smiled tentalively back.

"Escort them to the border." Edward said, bossily.

About half the wolves took off, leaving the rest of us to go back to the house. It was dark now, not that that was any problem. We could see perfectly.

"I'm sure everybody can come inside and sleep. We have a big house." Carmen said to the guests. The Cullen's stayed outside, off to the side watching as the wolves went into the house. Jake the rest of the pack had gone on to escort the other wolves out. But the leader's of each pack,--except Sam, who was leading the wolves—stayed to go over the treaty. Sam had already agreed, so he could be the alpha to lead the rest.

"Bella?" Edward asked. "You wanna go for a run?"

"Sure." I replied, having nothing else to do. I gave him a quick kiss and ran off, making him chase me. We played chase for a few hours before meeting up with the rest. Esme had stayed back in the house with Carlisle; so it was only Edward's brothers and sisters.

"Have a nice run?" Emmett asked with his arms tangled with Rose's. It was the same with Alice and Jasper.

"The best run ever." Edward grinned. HE held my waist, then suddenly dropped, taking me with him. I fell on his chest, and I heard the rest laughing. We stayed quiet for some time, enjoying the peace and quiet. Until Edward opened his mouth, "Bella?"

"Hmm?" I hummed lazily.

"Why have you not asked any questions about vampires?"

"Because. Aro and them already told me. He said you guys were surviving off of animals instead of humans. He hoped I would change that." I stroked his cheek. "I'm glad I didn't."

"I love you." He said out of the blue.

"Really? I didn't know that!" I said, acting like I was surprised. He growled playfully, "Okay, okay. I…" He gave me a pout when I didn't go on. "I love you too, sweetie."

"Mmm.Good." HE gave me a dazzling smile.

"Hey Bella?" Alice asked.

"Yeah?"

"How did you know that the wolves were coming?" She asked.

I chuckled uncomfortably. "Uh-forgot to tell ya guys."

"What?" Edward asked with his immense impatient ness.

"I got my power!" I said excitedly, hoping they wouldn't kill me for not telling them sooner.

"You see the future? " Alice asked confused.

"No." I said snorting. "But I kinda have these visions that I can see where's everybody's at."

"That's how you knew where I was exactly." Edwards said, thinking about his fight with Jake and me finding him in the forest.

"Yuppers." (AN: my fav word.)

"Wow. That's…" Alice trailed off, but Emmett picked up, "SO COOL!!!" He looked so excited. "What are the wolves and Carlisle doing right now?"

"Umm…I can't really—" My mind went its own way and into a vision. The leaders looked worn out while the vampires were arguing with something. The other packs were up and walking around the forest. I smiled as I saw Sam and a few others watching us a way's back. I couldn't smell them, since they were downwind. But I decided to play with them a bit.

"What? Why can't you?" Emmett said, depressed. I guess nobody really noticed me having a vision. "Hello?" 

"So Edward?" I asked him with a huge smile on my face. "Does this mean, since we're vampires, that we can't have anymore late nights in the barn, drinking redneck soda?"

"WHAT!?!" He said surprised. I saw a faint pink of my favorite blush of his (AN; I HAD to make Edward blush! It's just so darn cute!) "I don't know what you're talking about!"

Rosalie grinned at him, "I bet you two had more than redneck soda. I mean, sometimes you didn't even come home! Now we all know where you were at." (AN-Rose doesn't remember, she's just guessing-she does love to make Edward mad!)

I heard a roar coming from a few miles away and giggled. "Oops."

"What does that mean? Oops?" Edward asked, afraid.

"Better start running!" I said giving him a you-better-run-for-your-life-cuz-you-in-trouble look.

"Wh-AHHHH!!" Edward took off running around the small area. "BELLA!!!"

I laughed watching Edward run from the huge wolf.

**Alrighty ya'll. Next chapter is the LAST CHAPTER!!!!**


	37. Chapter 37

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any characters of Stephenie Meyer.**

_**Chapter 37 (Bella's POV)**_

_(I forgot to explain this, Bella has the visions because she always knew what was going on. I'm in a hurry, so GTG)_

"BELLA!!!! HE'S GOING TO KILL ME!!!" Edward said, coming to stand behind me, holding me in front of him to protect him from Sam.

"Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?" I said giggling.

Edward gave me a quick grin, "You better be, because he's going to have a 'talk' with you."

"Uh-oh." I said, not so giggly now. "You know what? Go run around again while I sneak off.

"You're not going anywhere." Sam said, coming out with jeans on.

"I didn't do anything!" I shouted before I could shut my mouth. Edward's body shook against me, laughing.

"Do you mind?" Sam asked politely to the two couples. "I think Edward and Bella need a talk with me."

They all laughed and giggled as they left.

Sam looked at us and gestured for us to sit down. In for the long haul. But I had to say something, "Sam. We really didn't do anything! I was just joking!"

He gave me a look before sitting down, "Now, how about you tell me what you were thinking?"

"Let's see. I was thinking about making you mad-which happened and --- 

"Bella, I meant about you and Edward doing that---" He swirled his hand, "stuff."

"SAM! He slept over a couple times, but we didn't do anything. Plus Charlie knew he was there." At least sometimes. In the morning.

"Where did you sleep?" Sam asked Edward.

"On the couch." I answered. I just didn't want Edward to say 'in her bed'.

"So, he didn't sleep anywhere else?" Sam questioned me.

"Uh…." Busted.

"BELLA SWAN!" He roared.

"We were just sleeping!"

"Didn't we teach you better?!"

That hit a nerve. "YOU WERE GONE! I wasn't ALLOWED to come over!!!"

He blinked in surprise. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"Edward was there for me! He came when I needed him or anybody! He helped with whatever was needed. He didn't make excuses."

A look of pain went through his face before he replied slowly, "We left you when you needed us most, didn't we?"

"What-"

"You were finally having to face things. You mom-and everything she did. Plus Charlie wasn't helping much." He stared at me in apology.

"But Edward was there. He made everything okay." I said, looking up at him. He smiled back and gave me a kissed on my forehead.

"Be good, Bella Swan. We'll see you in a few years." He smiled fatherly and left us to go back to the house.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Edward said beside me.

"Not at all." I said, leaning into his embrace.

"We should head back. The packs are leaving." Edward's head was look, hearing something. I used my power to see all the leader's shaking hands and the naked men transforming back into wolves. (I bet Edward didn't want me to see that) So, I quickly ran to the house, hoping to get to say bye to Jake and the rest.

We were there within seconds.

"JAKE!!!" I shouted before the pack took off. He was in his wolf form and I easily spotted him. I flung myself onto him and hugged him around his furry big head. "You were leaving without saying bye!"

He trembled beneath me and I remembered he was laughing.

"Well, sorry for wanting to say bye to my best friend." I said, unlatching my grip from him. He whimpered and licked my face, "EW! Who knows where that mouth has been?!"

He growled playfully and tackled me, pinning me to the ground. He changed and was now naked on top of me. Where in the world was Edward and who was holding him back. (AN"LOL) "You were saying?"

\"JAKE! You're naked again!" I squealed as he tickled me.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." We heard growling and looked over to Edward (With Emmett and Jasper holding each arm) "Whoops! Sorry." He gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Bye Bell's. Promise you'll come see us?"

He pouted. I laughed and hugged him, "Of course!"

He gave me a wolfish grin and changed again, taking off with the rest. I stood up, Edward helping me, and watched them go, "BYE!!! BE SAFE!!!! DON'T PLAY TOO HARD!!!!"

Chuckles were heard behind me. The rest of the packs left one-by-one, shaking hands with Carlisle and Tanya. When they were finally gone, everybody went into the house, seeing as there was no reason to stay outside. But Edward and I staid out, enjoying the sun setting.

"It's twilight." Edward mused.

"I'm thirsty, Edward." I said, no longer holding it back. HE quickly took me back through the woods to the animals.

"Just let your instincts take over." HE softly said.

I did as he said and quickly used my vampireness to know where exactly the caribou was. There were wild wolves not to far away, following the caribou. I drank two caribous, leaving the meat for the wolves and made my way over to Edward, "Okay, let's go."

"Are you going to be okay?" Edward asked as we walked to the house. We had an arm wrapped around each other, holding each other tight.

"Yeah. I can still call them. I just can't see them until I have enough control."

"Well, I think you already have a lot." He said. "I mean, you haven't had to feed for the past few days, when wolves were nearby. And I've never seen your eyes go black once."

"So, I have more control than you?" I said slyly.

"Um-uh." He looked undecided. "Maybe." He stopped in his tracks, so I did too. "Alice wants me for some reason, so I'm going to run the rest of the way back. Coming?"

"I think I'll just keep walking." I said, letting go of him.

He kissed me on the lips taking my face in his hands. "I'll see you in a few, Darlin'."

He was gone before I opened my eyes. I kept walking but felt someone watching me. I turned and a few miles back, I saw Jake standing there watching me. He let out a howl and turned around and ran-saying his last good-bye. Until I came back, that is.

"Bye, Jake." I whispered to the wind. "I'll see ya in a bit. And Charlie too." I started walking back to the house, singing my song, "Oh, I hear the weather's nice in California.  
And just in case you're wondering about me. From now on I won't be in Carolina. Your little girl is off, your little girl is off, your little girl is off…To Tennessee."

**That's it!!!! The song is the Kellie Pickler's I wonder. It's the song Bella was singing when she and Edward were up in the stable attic. I thought it fit perfectly. I also had another ending, where Edward blushed, but I liked this much better. **

**I probably will write another one after Eclipse, but won't update as much-(I promised my parents this was my last one.hehehe.) But I will be at school, so I'll have to do it all there. I CAN't WAIT (for the book, not school)**

**Well, thank you for all my reviewer's, I could make a sequel-I do have an idea…but Eclipse is coming out soon and well, I don't want to have it coinciding with everything else. SO…I probably won't be doing one. Unless I can sum it up in nine chapters (And you know me, I keep adding and adding and it'll turn into a 30 chapter sequel.)**

**So Thank you everybody, I hope you liked the story. I know I enjoyed writing it and reading the reviews.**


	38. EXTRA CHAPTER!

**Alrighty people. I'm sorry I've added this extra chapter so late. School started and I needed something happy to do instead of boring homework, so I wrote this. I may do the M rated scene-I have it all pictured, but I just need the time to do it. Maybe I'll do it in the next couple weeks!!! **

**Disclaimer:I do not own Twilight or anything else that is copyrighted.**

_**This is when the Cullen's left and Bella was left alone and….you'll see.**_

_BELLA'S POV_

I was doing my regular chores, going through the everyday routine I did after school. I didn't actually have to do it, especially since the house was clean enough, but it did give me something to do. I tried to keep busy and to stay in the house as much as I could. Too much time I had spent outside with _him_. So, I tended to inside doing the dishes or laundry and dusting-everything I could do to keep my mind off of him. But today was a Sunday and I had done everything I could think of doing in the house. Plus, I was so far ahead in homework that I couldn't remember what to study for the tests.

I took a deep breath and let it out. Maybe I could go for a quick ride. The workers had Sunday's off, so I wouldn't be bothered and Charlie was gone to Billy's. He usually goes there on these days. He just can't stand seeing me so restless and never stopping. But he knows the real reason, because my Edward and his family didn't remember me. Jacob must have told Billy who must've told Charlie about the Cullen's. I threw down the towel I was using and headed out the door to my horse. I saddled up a new horse we got instead of riding Blackie-the first horse Edward rode or--- memories. Great, perfect, painful, memories. I took off down the fields, not caring where I went, just going. The ride was the best thing I had since…

I didn't realize where I was until I got off the horse. It was the pond that Edward and I had gone to-the pond where my mom and I always went to. I gave a small laugh-they were both gone and both dead. Although Edward was still alive, but he was just considered dead because he was a vampire. I didn't care what he was, I just wanted him back.

I sat down at the edge and stayed there for an hour or two, staring out into nothing, just listening to nature. And that's when I realized that all the noise had stopped. I looked around to see if I could spot the disturbance but I was hit by something that would certainly leave a bruise. I looked up to see what hit me, and he was the only thing that wasn't a blur. It just took a second for me to remember him. It was the one in the Cullen's house-the one who caused all this. Aro. That's what he said his name was.

My anger took hold of me, "LET ME GO! YOU FRIGGIN BAS---"

His hand was placed smoothly over my mouth. I struggled against his hold, but it was no use. After a minute, I just sulked, thinking about Jake saying they were invincible. To humans like me, not him. After a few more minutes, he spoke low to me, "What's the matter? Don't you want to see Edward?"

I immediately perked up, "What? Really?"

"Yes." He said slowly, looking at me now with a look of curiousness on his face. "You do know what he is now, right?"

I nodded, "Yes, a vampire. Just like you."

"Yes, well, not just like me." He said, pursing his lips.

"What do you mean? Is something wrong with him? What happened?" I asked worriedly.

"Nothing's wrong with him, except that he and his family are trying not to be vampires. Or at least not regular ones." He said disapprovingly.

"Okay…Explain." I said when he didn't go on.

He sighed then replied fast, almost too fast for me to comprehend. "The Cullen's won't drink humans. They decided to drink animals."

"THAT'S GREAT!!" I said loudly, thinking how proud I was of them. Of Edward.

He looked disgustedly at me. "No, its not." He looked back behind him. "We better hurry. Those mutts are pretty fast."

"What?" I asked, trying to see around him.

"Their not there yet, but I bet their tracking us."

"So…" I said after another silence. "How long will it be till I see Edward?"

"Just a couple more hours." He said dismissing me.

"Can we get a car or something? My back is hurting. Plus I think you gave me more than a few bruises." I said, glaring at him for the last part.

"Sorry." Aro looked non-repentant. "But yes, to the cars. It'll help lose the dogs."

"Hello. Wolves." I said, sticking up for Jake.

"That looks like a fast car." Aro said. So I looked ahead, but saw nothing. After another mile, we were in a car driving speedily through the city. I was so bored on the way but all I could think about was I was actually going to see Edward! When we finally stopped, I only had a second to see the scenery before I was whisked off. The car was parked on the side of the road which had forests on both sides. But as soon as I was outside, I felt the cold. All I had on was a tank-top and jeans along with my boots. I was grateful for choosing riding gloves today for they offered a little warmth. The words '_I'm going to see_ _Edward_' was like a mantra that I kept repeating over and over.

Even though he wouldn't remember me, I was just happy to see him.

I didn't have any time to see a blur coming towards me. But in that split second afterwards, I saw my Edward. He was an angel. He was sparking, along with the rest of his family. They were all angels. Maybe I would be one too. Maybe.


End file.
